What's more, he still has a lot of questions that he hasn't figured out.

This time, in order to prevent the attack of the Chinese submarine, he did his best to arrange defensive measures, and it stands to reason that the Chinese submarine could not pass at all, but the attack still happened

The difference between this Chinese sneak attack and the last one is that, judging from the way of explosion, they are too much like a torpedo attack.

It was precisely because of the torpedo attack that the Japanese gunners, who had tightened the strings, began to shell when the fog was thick and they could not distinguish between the enemy and us, and took their own warships as Chinese torpedo boats and destroyers that came to attack them, resulting in this oolong tragedy.

But if it's a torpedo boat, why can't you see the slightest sign that the Chinese torpedo boat has been hit?

If you can't understand these questions, you won't feel at ease even if you die.

Thinking of this, Yuzaburo Kato stopped struggling, he slowly stood up straight with the support of his subordinates, and began to perform his duties.

A week later, Beijing, Jurentang, President's Office.

"President Tianjin, President Tianjin" Liang Shiyi, secretary of the presidential office, rushed into the office at a trot with a report, and reported to Yuan Shikai, who was sitting at the desk talking to Liang Qichao, in surprise.

"A big victory? Tianjin? Yuan Shikai, who was dressed in a dragon robe and wearing a melon skin hat, stood up from his seat and asked in surprise, "Tianjin victory?" Make no mistake, right? Not Shandong or Mukden? ”

"It's not Shandong or President Fengtian, there is no mistake, it's the great victory in the naval battle of Caofeidian in Tianjin," Liang Shiyi was so excited that his hands began to tremble, "Our navy launched a surprise attack for two consecutive days, defeating the Japanese navy, destroying two large Japanese ships, sinking two cruisers, and one destroyer."

A hint of míhuò flashed in Yuan Shikai's eyes, and Liang Qichao beside him also had a puzzled expression.

As for the combat effectiveness of the Chinese Navy, Yuan Shikai actually knows very well.

Like the outbreak of the "Second **" in July 1913, Yuan Shikai ordered Liu Guanxiong, the commander-in-chief of the navy, to personally lead the main force of the Chinese Navy to the south and attack Shanghai with Chen Qimei as the commander-in-chief to fight against Yuan's army. Due to the stubborn resistance of the Yuan army, the naval operation was very unfavorable, and it was unable to capture the Wusong fort for a long time. Yuan Shikai was very dissatisfied with the navy's performance, and once called Liu Guanxiong, and the telegram contained such words as "The attack on the Wusongkou Fort has not been down for many days, and outsiders here ridicule the navy's cowardice," which made Liu Guanxiong very frightened. It was not until August 13 that the Wusongkou Fort was finally captured by the navy. The Shanghai uprising failed. But Yuan Shikai was still very unhappy, and he called Liu Guanxiong again and said, "This time the capture of Wusongkou Fort, the famous bandit leader did not get a single person, which is incomprehensible." After receiving Yuan Shikai's telegram, Liu Guanxiong reported to Yuan in detail the capture of the Wusongkou fort and explained his accusations against the navy. From this, Yuan Shikai learned the true situation of the combat strength of the Chinese Navy and the gap between the Chinese Navy and the great powers.

And such a weak navy was able to defeat the powerful Japanese navy and achieve such a major victory, to Yuan Shikai's ears, it was like a myth in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas".

"Xiangcheng has official business, then I will leave first." Liang Qichao got up and said.

"Zhuo Ru don't go, I still have something to discuss with you." Yuan Shikai waved his hand and motioned for Liang Qichao to sit down.

"I'm here to influence the president's official business, it's ......better to leave first," Liang Qichao pointed to the report in Liang Shiyi's hand, smiled, and said.

"Zhuo Ru, you are not an outsider, but you are just a battle report from the front, so what's the harm in listening to it together?"

Hearing Yuan Shikai say this, Liang Qichao didn't speak again, but sat down according to his words, with a look of concentration on his face.

"Read." Yuan Shikai said to Liang Shiyi.

“…… From 22 to 24 July, the Chinese navy attacked Caofeidian at night, destroying the Japanese battleships "Hanoi" and "Settsu" with mines, sinking the Japanese battleships "Satsuma" and "Aki," sinking the Japanese cruiser "Kasaki," and three destroyers. The Japanese fleet has now withdrawn from the sea ...... Tianjin"

"Such a glorious record, the shame of the First Sino-Japanese War, is now snowing." After Liang Qichao listened to the content of the report, he couldn't help but have a jī moving look on his face.

"Yes, yes," Liang Shiyi said with a smile, "This is the headline, Zhuo Ru's wonderful pen can be useful this time." ”

Liang Qichao smiled and looked up at Yuan Shikai, as if waiting for him to show him.

A hesitant look appeared on Yuan Shikai's face, as if he was doubting the truth of the contents of this report, Liang Shiyi guessed Yuan Shikai's thoughts, and handed over the few photos contained in the document bag to Yuan Shikai. ,

Yuan Shikai looked at the photo carefully, and his brows gradually relaxed.

Seeing that Liang Qichao's eyes flashed with eagerness, Yuan Shikai handed him the photo in his hand.

Liang Qichao respectfully took the photo and looked at it carefully.

In the first photo, the figure of a huge battleship is clearly visible, which has capsized in the sea, and the bottom and propeller are out of the water. In the second photo, an equally massive battleship has been broken in two, half of its body is soaked in the sea, and the twin turrets on the surface of the ship are twisted and crooked. In the third photo, a battleship appears to be stranded on the shore, with the bow part of the ship out of the water, but the stern part of the ship submerged in the water. In the fourth photo, a battleship was broken into three parts, and the whole surface of the ship was so miserable that it could not be seen at all, as if it had been sacked by many violent explosions.

The remaining photographs show smaller Japanese ships damaged by sunk and wounded ships.

Seeing the caption under the photo, Liang Qichao has also determined that the content of this victory report should be absolutely true.

"Our navy inflicted such heavy losses on Japanese ships, and the officers and men must have suffered many casualties." Thinking of the possible situation on the battlefield, Liang Qichao said with some sadness.

"Yes, after this battle, my navy has not had a few ships left?" Yuan Shikai listened to Liang Qichao's words, and also sighed.

"The report did not explain the casualties of our army, I asked General Liu, and General Liu told me that the navy only lost three small boats, and the casualties were minimal, but the damage to the coastal batteries was very serious, and it was difficult to recover for a while, and there were many artillery casualties." Liang Shiyi replied.

"After such a big victory, the losses were so small, how did they do it?" Yuan Shikai asked in surprise.

"General Liu said that because the matter is confidential and he is afraid of affecting the future war, the details of this naval battle are not convenient for disclosure to the outside world now." Liang Shiyi said.

"I see." Yuan Shikai nodded, indicating that he understood the priorities, "If this is the case, I am not in a hurry to know, anyway, the battle is won, and this time the Japanese will not dare to underestimate my China." ”

"If the president agrees, he will not be willing to publicize this great victory to our people, so as to boost the spirit of our people and help our navy and army on the front line." Liang Qichao said, "As for the details of the naval battle, the navy should also keep it secret, and we might as well use the power of the newspaper media to exaggerate it, so that it can mislead the Japanese people and boost the morale of our army." ”

"Then please Zhuo Ruyou" Yuan Shikai looked at Liang Qichao happily and said, "There is also a promotion of raising military funds, and Zhuo Ru is invited to ......"

"The president doesn't need to say much, this is a major matter related to the fate of the country and the nation, Zhuo Rudang will go all out, please rest assured," Liang Qichao replied as he stood up.

After sending Liang Qichao away, Yuan Shikai said to Liang Shiyi: "You go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ask them to hold a press conference immediately to make this victory public, and the bigger the momentum, the better." ”

Liang Shiyi understood the intention of Yuan Shikai's move, and nodded understandingly.

"Don't forget to ask Cao Rulin to take a look at that guy and see what that guy has to say." Yuan Shikai continued.

"Yes, I'll go over it." Liang Shiyi said with a smile.

In the afternoon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, the scene of the press conference.

"I am a reporter for the British newspaper The Times, and I would like to ask Vice Minister Cao, what evidence do you have to show that your navy has indeed won this major victory?"

Cao Rulin nodded reservedly, waved his hand, and a staff member immediately turned on the slide projector, and a huge black-and-white photo was immediately displayed on the wall behind Cao Rulin.

This photo is one of those photos that Liang Qichao has seen.

Seeing this photo, the reporters sitting below immediately let out a burst of exclamation.

"Gentlemen who are familiar with the Japanese Navy will be able to see that this is the Japanese capital ship 'Settsu', and you can see from the photos that its keel has broken ......."

Today's Cao Rulin has changed the impression of cowardice in the past, and when answering questions raised by reporters, he is proud and confident, and he also speaks with the flavor of a naval expert.

"I want to ask another question, Vice Chief Cao, as we all know, there is a big gap between the strength of the Chinese Navy and the Japanese Navy," the Times reporter then asked, "There is no doubt that from the photos, this Japanese warship has indeed been destroyed, so how did the Chinese Navy do it?" ”

"According to what I know from our Admiralty, our Navy destroyed these large Japanese warships with mines." Cao Rulin replied, "And the details, because Japan is still invading our country, in order to keep military secrets, we can't make it public for the time being." ”

"Your and your Admiralty's explanations are hardly convincing." The foreign reporter said as he pressed the shutter of the camera in his hand and took a picture of Cao Rulin.

"You think this victory is a bit incredible, but I want to tell you, it really happened" Cao Rulin looked at the unknown foreign reporter with some annoyance, and replied loudly, "I don't care if you believe it or not, I believe it anyway."