“…… Who of you has ever seen hundreds of planes bombing and strafing overhead? Those bombs, machine gun bullets rained down. Our army at the top of the hill has no anti-aircraft weapons, which means that they will not fight back when they are beaten. To make matters worse, no one knew how to dodge the planes at first, so in the early stages of the battle we suffered a lot of losses and suffered heavy casualties......"

“…… What I said is all the truth, and it is all based on the experience and lessons gained by thousands of imperial soldiers at the cost of their blood and lives......"

The official history of this book records the following facts in a few words: "...... In late June 1921, the Imperial Army lost a battle against the Chinese Army on the Liaodong Peninsula, and almost all of the six elite divisions and regiments of the main force defending the brigade were broken, and more than 70,000 officers and men were killed or wounded...... Lieutenant General Hikoroku Yokoyama committed suicide and martyrdom, and a total of seven division commanders and brigade commanders above the rank of major general were killed, and more than 30 wing commanders and brigade commanders were killed....... ("Memorabilia of the War?") Volume IV)

Under the heroic blows of nearly 300,000 Chinese [***] troops in Manchuria, nearly 100,000 casualties were inflicted, and the counterattack was weak.

Chengde, summer resort.

Yang Shuoming carefully read the battle report on the front line, took the battle report sent a few days ago and compared it, and asked: "Did you find the two battleships 'Fusang' and 'Shancheng'?" ”

"Nope." The officer replied, "After our troops occupied the 203rd Height, they immediately brought in 305-millimeter heavy artillery to bombard the ships in the harbor, and it was determined that two battleships were sunk, but they were all old ships captured by the Russian Navy in those years, and there were no such two huge ships. According to the captured sailors, the two ships had left the brigade before the war and may have returned to the mainland. ”

Yang Shuoming nodded, and the officer saluted and withdrew.

Seeing that Yang Shuoming seemed to be a little annoyed, Jiang Baili couldn't help but ask, "Hanzhi is worried about the Navy?" ”

"Yes." Yang Shuoming replied, but his eyes still did not take off the map on the table, "If we lose at sea, no matter how good we fight on land, it will be useless." ”

"After fighting for so many days, the main decisive battle at sea has not started, which is a little worrying, but I don't think we will lose." After listening to Yang Shuoming's answer, Jiang Baili said with some disapproval, "We have 12 giant ships of 50,000 tons, and there are only eight of them that can compete with me, so I don't believe it, and the navy is better than the German navy." Moreover, up to now, we have been blockading the coast of Yuben for so many days, and the main force of the Yuben Navy still has not come forward, so it can be seen that they do not dare to take it lightly and fight with us. ”

"Having said that, I am used to engaging in conspiracy and trickery, and now that they have lost Lushun's mouth, and have been choked enough by our submarines, the dog jumped under the wall in a hurry, maybe they will get some tricks and tricks." Yang Shuoming said.

"I remember that sentence was what you Yang Hanzhi said, in the face of absolute strength, all conspiracies and tricks are floating clouds." Jiang Baili smiled, "You won't forget all this sentence, will you?" ”

Listening to Jiang Baili's words, Yang Shuoming couldn't help but laugh dumbly.

"Those who know me, Brother Baili."

"Your Xiao Yang's mind is too heavy, but it's no wonder that this time to start a war with Yue Ben, although the certainty of victory is much greater than the last time, but after all, it is a matter of the future and destiny of the country, and no matter who is in your Xiao Yang's position, it is impossible to completely calm down." Jiang Baili sighed and said, "Isn't it because President Feng is too worried that he will ...... the result?"

Thinking of the late acting President Feng Guozhang and former President Li Yuanhong, who was still in the hospital and couldn't get out of bed, Yang Shuoming couldn't help but be silent.

"Now that the plan has been made and laid out, we will wait for the result and not have to think about it so much." Jiang Baili looked at Yang Shuoming and said as if he was half-joking, "To be honest, the plans made by your Xiao Yang are unmatched in China. ”

"Yes." Yang Shuoming nodded, "We all tried our best, and some of the rest of the things are actually beyond your control." ”

"So you might as well let go a little bit and give yourself a break." Jiang Baili said seriously, "To be honest, I've always been worried that if you are tired, looking at the country, it is really not easy to find someone to replace you." ”

Thinking of the plans that his "supercomputer eyes" helped him draw up, Yang Shuoming couldn't help but smile slightly.

"In a moment, if there is no news from the submarine force command, I will go out and relax." Yang Shuoming said with a smile.

SaidBen, Sasebo Port.

"We're in Sasebo."

Xiao Yonglin, who was in front of the periscope of the "Flying Fish 9" submarine, said to himself while observing the situation on the sea surface.

Hearing the captain's words, the faces of the surrounding Chinese naval officers and sailors were all excited.

Sasebo Port is located on the northwest coast of Kyushu Island, surrounded by mountains, and is surrounded by the Goto Islands to the west of the entrance channel. The Usebo Naval Base is not only one of the traditional shipbuilding bases of the Saimoto, but also one of the military ports of the old Shomoto Navy, where the Combined Fleet was born in 1905 during the Russo-Russian War. This is because the base is located on the eastern side of the southern end of the Korean Strait (Tsushima Strait), and its geographical location is very important, and the good geographical conditions of the Sasebo base and the resulting role of the base are a decisive factor that cannot be ignored as the reason why the base was able to achieve a brilliant victory in the Tsushima Strait in those years. The base has a water area of more than 40 million square meters, can berth more than 90 ships, has 5 shipyards and 4 docks, and can repair and build large ships. It is bordered by Sasebo City to the north and is surrounded by the Nishibiki Peninsula and Needleo Island on the island of Kyushu, and is in an irregular "Y" shape. The only inlet channel in the port area (water depth 23-54 meters) is located in the southwest, and the quarantine anchorage (water depth 15-35 meters) is located on the south side of the channel. The inner harbor is at the northwest end, and at the end is the Rishijinto district of Sasebo City, which is divided into zones 1 and 2 (water depth 10-14 meters) from north to south. Zone 3 is located in the northeast and middle of the port area (Huimeisu Bay), which is a merchant anchorage, with a water depth of 10-37 meters, and can accommodate more than 10 10,000-ton ships; The Hakusaki and Rugged Cape Line is designated as an anchorage for ships carrying cargo near Higashitakashima. The southern boundary of the port is the line connecting Cape Inoshou and Kuchikisaki, and the northeastern boundary is the line connecting Niura and the western end of the Saki Strait. The navigable waters in the port are more than 30 square kilometers, which is a semi-tidal port, with a rising tide in the northeast direction and a speed of 0.3 knots, and a falling tide in the southwest direction and a speed of 0.5 knots. The speed of the falling tide in the inlet channel is 1.3 knots, and the speed outside the boundary of the channel port can reach 2 knots, and the maximum rising tide is 1.5 knots. There are many northerly winds throughout the year, southerly winds in summer, and northerly winds prevail in winter. There are signs for entering the port, such as the Mijintori Lamp Pile, the Sail Uese Lamp Pile, the Ose Lamp Pile, the Otateshima Lamp Pile, the Otachi Island, the Ottojima Lamp Pile, the Takagosaki Lighthouse, the Shirase Lamp Pile, the Mt. Oshima Takayama Peak (100 meters), and the Yuritake Takayama Peak (185 meters).

Sasebo is an important military port, its strategic position is extremely important, and it is one of the most important anchorage bases of the Navy, and the Navy is very well defended here, and there are anti-submarine nets and minefields at the entrance to the port.

After the war between China and China, the port of Sasebo was heavily guarded, especially against a possible attack by Chinese submarines. Since the main ship of the Sasebo Navy has never appeared after the war between the two sides, and Sasebo Port is an important base of the Sasebo Navy, and it is possible that there are huge ships anchored, two Chinese submarines infiltrated Sasebo Bay in May 1921, and one of them was struck by a mine and sank, and all crew members were killed. The news of the sinking of the Chinese submarine was very heartening to the people of Sasebo, who believed that any attempt to break through the bay of Sasebo would be impossible.

But alas, the Chinese who have suffered setbacks do not think so.

Because the navy also suffered heavy losses in naval battles in Europe, the capital ships of the "Tsukuba," "Kurama," and "Ibuki" were sunk one after another, and the newly built warships were not all completed, so the navy was in a "period of blood loss" that was rare in history, and the Chinese navy reached its heyday at this time, and the Chinese navy had an absolute advantage in the number of capital ships for the first time. Despite the outstanding performance of the Chinese Navy in Europe, the top brass of the Chinese Navy did not dare to be careless in the face of its old adversary, the Yueben Navy. While actively preparing for a decisive battle with the main force of the Chinese navy, some Chinese naval commanders also put forward a plan to emulate the German navy's "submarine sneak attack operation." The difference with the Germans' "unlimited submarine warfare" is that while attacking the sea routes and the transport fleet, the Chinese submarines also regard finding and attacking the main ships of the navy as an equally important combat mission.

In order to strengthen the superiority of the Chinese navy's capital ships, some high-ranking generals of the Chinese navy plan to use submarines to sink or damage the main ships of the Chinese navy, so that the Chinese navy can easily gain sea supremacy.

If you want to sneak up on an enemy ship anchored in a military port, you can only do it with extraordinary courage and superb technology. In the words of Yang Shuoming, the de facto commander of the Chinese Navy, any attacker "requires the boldest and most aggressive spirit." Because they had to deal not only with a heavily defended enemy navy, but also with unpredictable currents that were strong enough to put the submarine in danger by deviating from its intended course. Yang Shuoming has always wanted to try to let a Chinese submarine infiltrate the port of Yueben and deal a heavy blow to the Yueben Navy, if he can sink or damage a capital ship, he will be devastated (at his own speed, it will take 2 to 3 years to build a battleship and install it at the earliest). The intelligence department of the Chinese Navy has made a great deal of preparations for this purpose, and has collected a large amount of intelligence information on the ports and bays along the coast of the city through the Navy's reconnaissance ships, intelligence personnel in the city, and some submarines patrolling the sea. The reconnaissance aircraft sent by the Chinese camouflaged reconnaissance ship even managed to take some clear photos of the Sasebo and Hiroshima bases; Some of the Chinese submarines patrolling the waters around Sasebo Bay and the Seto Inland Sea also ventured close to the port of Sasebo, bringing back some valuable information. After careful study of the above information, the command of the submarine forces of the Chinese Navy concluded that it was necessary to attack at night, because the current at the bottom of the sea was relatively slow at that time. The next question is to determine who will carry out the attack.

After strict selection, Xiao Yonglin finally stood out.

As a veteran soldier who once drove a pocket submarine to sink the battleship in the Battle of Caofeidian, Xiao Yonglin was already a captain with many years of combat experience at that time.

In a report to Yang Shuoming, a general of the Submarine Forces Command said:

"The choice of all of us is in favor of Navy Captain Xiao Yonglin, who is the captain of the Flying Fish 9 submarine. In the eyes of everyone, he has the personal qualities and professional skills required to carry out the task,...... All the relevant information had been handed to him, and he could choose to accept it or give it up, but he insisted on going. ”。 On May 20, 1921, Vice Admiral Wei Yonghao, then commander of the submarine force, gave Xiao Yonglin 48 hours to study the battle plan and make a decision. That night, he took the battle plan back and studied it carefully until late at night. The next time, he decided to accept this combat mission because he was fully confident that he would successfully complete this combat mission.

When the original stockpile on the submarine was unloaded and replaced with far fewer supplies than in previous missions, the crew of the Exocet 9 knew that this was a very special mission. One day in June 1921, the Flying Fish 9 submarine slowly left Dagu Harbor laden with torpedoes and sailed along a carefully planned route to the Yuebenhai Sea, where it diverted to the south and dived to avoid being discovered by surface ships. The combat mission was codenamed "Yuan" (taken from the meaning of Kublai Khan's Eastern Expedition), and the route was completed under highly confidential conditions, and then Wei Yonghao personally dictated it to Naval Commander Lan Jianshu. And when the submarine left the port, there was not even any ceremony on the pier to go to sea.

The Flying Fish 9 submarine entered the Yellow Sea along the Bohai Strait. During the voyage, Xiao Yonglin did not reveal anything about this combat mission to the crew. The submarine spent a lot of time underwater during the voyage, only occasionally surfacing during the day. Ignorant of the mission they were about to perform, the crew often looked at Xiao Yonglin suspiciously, but they didn't say a word. There is no doubt that they have complete trust in Xiao Yonglin.

After careful calculation, after entering the Yuebenhai Sea, the "Exocet 9" submarine, which had been underwater for a while, surfaced and began to correct its course. At this time, the weather gradually changed, and the thick clouds and drizzle in the sky made the starlight disappear, and it was extremely difficult to distinguish the course and bearing. Based on the lights emanating from the shore, Xiao Yonglin was convinced that he was not far from his destination. In fact, the submarine had indeed reached a position less than 2.5 nautical miles from Nagasaki. Xiao Yonglin's estimate is quite accurate, and there is no doubt about his superb sailing experience. The crew on the boat, who did not know the truth, even asked Xiao Yonglin: "Are we going to visit Nagasaki?" And the answer they got was, "No, let's go to Sasebo." ”

At about 4 o'clock in the morning, the submarine began to vent and dive.

Since the situation in the land war has become clear, after reaching the designated sea area, the combat mission has also been declassified. Xiao Yonglin told his crew that their mission was to enter Sasebo Bay. Since he had to spend almost the whole day underwater, Xiao Yonglin ordered everyone to save air and electricity, and not to move around unless necessary. Then the lighting was cut off, and the instruments in the submarine's control room, the slight leakage of water droplets from the pipes, and the sound of seawater squeezing the hull from all sides became the only noise inside the boat.

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, all the crew finished eating, the tables, chairs and utensils were arranged, and the crew's bunks were folded. In order to avoid capture of the submarine, several crew members planted explosives on the bottom of the submarine. Everyone checked their life jackets while tearing off the fleet logo from their hats to avoid revealing their identities if they might be captured. Xiao Yonglin ordered all the crew to prepare for battle, and the attack was about to begin.

At 7 p.m., Xiao Yonglin ordered the submarine to float.

At this point, the motor starts running at full speed. Upon ascending to a depth of 45 feet, Xiao Yonglin ordered the periscope to be raised. After observation, night had fallen and the sea was in good condition. At 7:15, Xiao Yonglin ordered to surface.

The submarine's engines began to spin at flying speeds. Over the next four hours, the Exocet 9 moved slowly to the northeast of the bay with the tide. In order to avoid passing ships on the sea, submarines often dived into the water while contending with increasingly strong currents. The time to enter Sasebo Bay is a bit off, and there is a strong tide flowing into the bay at this time. Like a canoe falling into a rapid, the Exocet 9 barely managed to enter the strait at night. At this time, the bottom of the submarine's hull even collided with the mooring cable laid on the bottom of the sea, causing the submarine to turn sharply to the right and run aground. Because Xiao Yonglin had previously ordered the submarine to move in a semi-submersible state according to the water depth, and now it could only continue to exhaust into the water tank, so the "Flying Fish 9" successfully floated again. The strait ahead gradually widened, and the current slowed down.

In order to prevent the attack of Chinese submarines, the underwater in the strait is densely covered with many man-made shipwrecks and other underwater obstacles. According to the information gathered before the departure, it was extremely difficult to enter by the route through the strait, and it was almost impossible to penetrate into it. At this time, the "Exocet-9" submarine was sailing along this route. At 12:27 a.m., Xiao Yonglin wrote in the battle notes: We have entered Sasebo Bay.

The "Exocet 9" submarine continued to sail along the coast of the mainland, and on the way spotted several transport ships quietly docked on the shore, which Xiao Yonglin dismissed. Suddenly, a huge black shadow of a ship appeared in front of the submarine.

(To be continued)