On the ironclad ship "Hiei", Captain Izuba Shigeto looked at the four transport ships behind him, turned his head and ordered the officers beside him: "Send a signal to order the 'Mt. Fuji', 'Enn' and 'Raiden Maru' to escort the transport ships to leave as quickly as possible and not to participate in the battle!" ”

"Yes!" The officer agreed loudly and ran to give the order, and the other officers did not question his decision.

As a subordinate of Dewa Shigeyuan for many years, the situation at this time made them all understand why the commander would give such an order.

In the distance, the huge body of the "Fuso" was already clearly visible.

The Satsuma naval officers on the "Fuso" knew very well that their mission this time was to escort the troops, and to safely transport a total of more than 4,000 reinforcements to Osaka (in addition to the four lost transport ships, there were also six transport ships with them), and before leaving, the Kagoshima Prefecture Commander Oyama Tsunara who was in charge of logistics specially told the captains of the escort fleet that the front line was in urgent need of troops, and once they encountered the enemy, they should not fall in love with the battle, and they should lead the enemy ships away as much as possible to ensure the safety of the transport ships and ensure that the reinforcements arrive safely. Dewa Shigeto firmly remembered Tsunayo Oyama's words, and it was because he made such a decision immediately after seeing the "Fuso".

Soon, a series of incomparably complex signal flags were raised on the mast, and after a short time, the "Mt. Fuji" and other three ships that received the signal did not talk nonsense, but obeyed the order, quickly caught up with the four transport ships, and accelerated away with the transport ships.

Dewa Shigeto raised his binoculars and stared at the sea, he did not order the "Hiei" to charge the "Fuso" at this time, but nervously observed the situation of several other government warships.

What worries him most now is that the government forces, with the exception of the slow-moving capital ship "Fuso", several other faster warships are pursuing the Satsuma convoy. He didn't fight right away. Rather, they observe the situation. As soon as an enemy ship pursues the convoy. He immediately commanded the Hiei to come forward and intercept the attack.

To his surprise and relief, what he feared did not happen.

Unbeknownst to Dewa Shigeen, just on the other side, the captain of the "Fuso", Kozo Tsubei, issued a similar order to the other government warships.

Of course, Izuwa Shigeyuan did not notice and would not have imagined that the government fleet led by the "Fuso" was actually carrying troop carriers like the Satsuma fleet. And the number of troop carriers is more than that of the Satsuma army!

After the capture of the three important cities of Kyoto, Kobe, and Osaka by the Satsuma army, the government army retreated one after another, and the assassination of Okubo Ritsu and others, all of which pushed the Meiji government into a corner.

Aritomo Yamagu's plan was to take advantage of the fact that the Satsuma army was attacking the land that had stalled due to the Great Fire of Kyoto, and concentrate forces on the front to attack the Kyoto area. At the same time, the navy covered the landing of an army unit in the rear of the Osaka flank, and stabbed the rear of the Satsuma army. Expose the Satsuma army to the enemy and cut off the rear sea access of the Satsuma army. This plan can be described as very vicious.

Since the key to this combat operation was the navy, Vice Admiral Junyoshi Daisuke Kawamura, who was acting secretary of the navy, mobilized all the elite ships of the government navy, including the ironclad ship "Fuso" and the gunboat "Kiyoki," and Rear Admiral Yoshishin Inoue was the commander in charge of the operation of "sticking a knife in the back."

After the fleet departed, Inoue Yoshishin and the captain of the "Fuso" Tsuboi Kozo studied the possible situation, and both believed that it was very likely that they would encounter the ironclad ships "Hiei" or "Kongo" that had been seized by the Satsuma Navy, or the Satsuma Army's troop carriers. However, before setting out, the navy's Daisuke Kawamura Junyoshi repeatedly warned that the fleet's primary task was to protect the safety of troop carriers -- it was now quite difficult for the government to mobilize these capable troops -- and it was forbidden to fight in waves.

Now, the lead ships of the two fleets have met unexpectedly in the waters of the Kii Suido, which is close to Osaka.

"Rush forward! Attack! Inoue Ryoshin saw the "Hiei" ironclad that appeared in front of him, and shouted violently.

At this time, the two sides were sailing in opposite directions, and when they heard the order of the commander, the officers and men on the "Fuso" immediately moved, and soon all the gun positions were put into a state of readiness. At this time, the sun completely jumped above the horizon, and a huge sun flag jumped out of the mast of the "Fuso......

Not to be outdone, Dewa Shigefar from seeing the movements of the "Fuso", ordered the equally huge "Cross Maru" battle flag (the giant national flag used by the navy is called the battle flag, which is mainly used in combat and on major ceremonial occasions), and directed the "Hiei" to rush forward at high speed.

Almost at the same time, Kozo Tsuboi also commanded the ironclad ship "Fuso" to rush straight toward the "Hiei" and ordered the enemy ships to open fire as soon as they reached range -- the "Fuso" had the advantage that its main guns could fire directly ahead, while the "Hiei" could not fire directly ahead, and he was all too familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of the warships of both sides.

Tsuboi's intention was obvious, he wanted to take advantage of the opponent's weakness of not being able to shoot forward, and preemptively strike at the enemy ship with the 240-mm heavy gun of the "Fuso".

Under his orders, the heavy "Coles turret" in the bow of the "Fuso" began to turn slowly, and the gunners maneuvered the heavy 240mm Armstrong breech gun and aimed at the rapidly approaching "Hiei" ironclad.

"Boom! Rumble! With two loud bangs, the thick muzzle of the "Fuso" spewed out two thick black black smoke with dark red flames, and two huge shells rushed out of the barrel and flew straight towards the "Hiei".

Standing on the bridge of the "Hiei", Izuwa Shigeto stared closely at the muzzle of the "Fuso", and in the midst of the piercing whistling, two shells fell far on the sea not far in front of the starboard side of the "Hiei".

The explosion of 240-mm shells stirred up a huge column of water. Feel the water splash on your face. There was a burst of anxiety in Dewa Shigeyuan's heart.

The main armament of the "Hiei" was 3 170-mm Krupp breech guns. 6 x 150 mm Krupp breech guns, 2 x 80 mm Krupp guns and 2 x 75 mm Krupp guns, in addition to 4 25 mm 4-barrel Nordenfeld guns and 2 11 mm Nordfeld guns, 1 360 mm torpedo tube, because it is a "shipside gun" gun arrangement, only when facing the enemy on the side of the side, can you play two 170 mm guns on one side (there are a total of 5 main gun emplacements on the side of the "Hiei", One 170-mm gun in the head was of the mast type. occupies two gun positions on the left and right, which can be turned to attack in two directions) and the salvo power of three 150-mm guns, and now the enemy ship is in a position directly ahead, and the "Hiei" cannot shoot, and before entering the attack position, it can only be beaten and cannot fight back.

At this moment, the only thing that Izuha Shigeto can rely on is the thick iron armor of the "Hiei".

The rushing "Hiei" began to adjust its course and position, at which time the front main turret of the "Fuso" opened fire again, and two huge 240-mm shells flew through the mast of the "Hiei". It crashed into the sea on the other side and exploded.

This time the explosion was much closer than the previous one, and the stirred sea water rushed to the deck and flybridge of the "Hiei". Dewa Shigeyuan desperately grabbed the railing on the flybridge so that he didn't let himself fall.

"The enemy's shelling is accurate!" A Satsuma officer exclaimed.

"Our shelling is more accurate! Wait and see! Another Satsuma officer said unconvinced.

"Maybe their gunners are also Satsuma!" I don't know who said that.

At this moment, the tall "Hiei" crossed directly in front of the "Fuso", and two 170-mm guns began to fire fiercely, and almost at the same time, the other three 150-mm guns of the "Hiei" and one 80-mm and one 75-mm Krupp breech guns on one side also erupted into flames and fired at the "Fuso".

Despite the momentum, the first salvo fired by the riveted Satsuma gunners all missed, and five huge shells fired by two 170-mm guns and three 150-mm guns landed in the sea in front of the bow of the "Fuso" almost simultaneously, setting off a huge wall of water.

"Load! Fast! On the "Fuso", with the hoarse shouts of the gunners, the government gunners first loaded the propellant into the chamber of the cannon that exited the gun due to recoil, and then struggled to lift a heavy cannonball with a pulley sling, and filled it from the bolt mouth, just as the gunner pushed the cannonball hard with the push rod to make it enter the chamber, the shell fired by the "Hiei" again fell on the side of the "Fuso", and the stirred up sea water rushed straight to the gun deck, pouring in from the canopy on the top of the turret, and several government gunners were all drenched in the soup. Someone was unsteady on his feet and fell to the ground all at once.

The gunner was also drenched from head to toe, but he didn't care about it, he still waved the saber in his hand, shouted the operation password loudly, and instructed the gunners to operate the gun.

After completing the whole procedure of maneuvering the cannon with great difficulty, the gunners pushed the cannon out of the gun door and were about to continue firing, when several more shells flew from the direction of the Satsuma warship and exploded in the sea with a whistling sound. This time, although the shells fired by the Satsuma warship still failed to hit the "Fuso," the distance of the bullets was obviously closer than just now, and the fragments from the explosion flew up to the deck of the "Fuso" with the waves, and the two government sailors who were transporting the shells were hit in the chest by the small shrapnel.

"The thieves and gunners are fighting so fast!"

Seeing that the Satsuma warship was able to fire two salvos in the time of the first salvo of the government warship, the captain of the "Fuso," Kenzo Tsubori, put down his binoculars, frowned, and said to himself.

Tsuboi Kozo did not know that although the "Hiei" was a warship looted by the Satsuma Navy from the government forces, and there were many new members of its crew, and the run-in degree with this warship was not high, but Lin Yiqing had specially conducted targeted artillery training for the Satsuma gunners before this, and the operability of the Krupp cannon was simpler than that of the Armstrong cannon, so the rate of fire of the "Hiei" was much faster than that of the "Fuso."

The bow and main turret of the "Fuso" began to fire again in a volley, and huge 240-mm shells whistled towards the "Hiei" with amazing power. But still missed. Instead, it fell into the sea. And just as the government gunners were desperately busy firing the third salvo, three red lights flashed from the gun doors on the side of the "Hiei", and then the whistling of shells was heard in the sky.

Kenzo Tsuboi and Ryoshin Inoue on the flybridge instinctively wanted to dodge, but they just bowed down while standing on the flybridge and commanded, and when he raised his head, he was shocked by two violent explosions.

Inoue Ryoshin was so shocked that he shook his head and stood up easily. I saw smoke still emitting from two craters on the deck, surrounded by several wailing wounded government sailors.

In less than 10 minutes after the start of the battle, the Satsuma warship achieved the victory, and two 80-mm shells fired by the "Hiei" hit the side deck of the "Fuso", killing two sailors and wounding four on the spot.

"Hurry up and fight back!" Looking at the huge "Coles turret" that was turning awkwardly, Inoue couldn't help but stomp his feet on the flybridge.

Tsuboi ordered a turnaround, ready to use the salvo fire of six 240-mm guns of the three twin-mounted "Coles turrets". Soon, the "Fuso" rushed to the front of the "Hiei", and the two ships appeared to sail opposite each other. When the two ships each faced each other with their side sides, the gunners of both sides invariably began to fire.

Six cannons on the side of the "Fuso" began a fierce salvo. One after another, huge shells swept across the sea, flew straight towards the "Hiei", entered the water not far from the "Hiei", and set off a high column of water, and the two 170-mm guns and three 150-mm guns of the "Hiei" also opened fire fiercely, and Izuwa Shigeto couldn't help but sigh loudly when he saw that three 150-mm shells almost hit the enemy ship.

While both the gunners of the "Fuso" and the gunners of the main guns of the "Hiei" were busy with the operation of reloading shells, the "Hiei" 1 80-mm gun and 1 75-mm gun opened fire again.

Since the secondary guns of the "Hiei" were all Krupp breech guns, the firing speed was extremely fast, so that before the gunners of the "Fuso" could react, these guns re-spewed out tongues of fire.

Dewa Shigeyuan saw one 75-mm shell hit one of the turrets of the "Fuso", where it exploded, bursting out with a dark red fire, which was immediately surrounded by black smoke. However, this hit did not seem to have had any effect on the turret, and it was not long before the two 240mm cannons of the turret erupted tongues of fire.

At this time, on the mast of the "Hiei", the shooters manipulated the Gatling machine gun inside and opened fire, and the rain of bullets and fires poured down, sweeping straight towards the deck of the Japanese ship, and suddenly the flames and debris flew in all directions, although the distance was very long, but Dewa Shigeto seemed to be able to hear the screams and wails of the enemy sailors on the opposite side.

At this time, the "Hiei" and the "Fuso" had already staggered, and Dewa Shigeto ordered the rudder to be turned, and before the enemy ship could turn, the "Hiei" had already rushed to the stern position of the "Fuso".

"Hiei" again began a volley on the side of the board, and at about the same time, the stern turret of the "Fuso" also turned around and opened heavy fire on the "Hiei".

This time, the fierce fire of the main guns of both sides did not hit the target, but fell into the sea, stirring up a huge column of water, pouring the personnel of both sides into chickens, and at the same time, the shrapnel took the lives of several sailors.

Although the main guns of both sides did not shoot well, the secondary guns achieved considerable results.

Several 80-mm and 75-mm shells fired by the "Hiei" flew and landed on the deck of the "Fuso" and exploded, and for a time the shock wave swept across the deck of the "Fuso" with shrapnel, and as the government sailors who were beaten into a sieve fell one by one, there was a sound of ghosts crying and wolf howling everywhere.

Almost at the same time, shells fired from six 75-mm Krupp sampans that served as secondary guns for the "Fuso" also hit the deck of the "Hiei".

Inoue Yoshishin on the flybridge of the "Fuso" was almost hit by shrapnel, and he retreated to the command tower with Tsuboi and others in some panic, and he raised his binoculars again and looked at the Satsuma warship opposite, and found that just like the mess on the deck of the ship, on the deck of the Satsuma warship, there were also many Satsuma sailors killed and wounded, but the morale of the Satsuma sailors was much higher than that of the ship, and they silently carried away the remains of their companions, as if the shelling around them did not exist.

Now Inoue Yoshishin somewhat understands why the government fleet was beaten like that by the Satsuma Navy before.

The "Hiei" quickly passed through the stern of the "Fuso" at high speed, and opened a distance from the "Fuso", and without waiting for the "Fuso" to turn, the "Hiei" had already sailed to the other side of the "Fuso" and was driving side by side with the "Fuso", but the distance between the two sides was much farther than just now.

The two ironclad ships continued to engage in fierce artillery battles, and this time the main guns of the "Hiei" finally achieved results, and a 170-millimeter shell fired from the "Hiei" hit the "Fuso", and for a time the "Fuso" suddenly rose from the hull of the "Fuso" with dark red flames and billowing black smoke. (To be continued......)

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