While the Chinese official and non-governmental business circles were filled with righteous indignation over the sinking of the ocean-going fleet, the Japanese newspapers began to refute the Chinese side's slander of the sinking of the Haiqi by the Japanese Navy without any evidence, and the Ministry of the Navy also began to talk nonsense about the huge storm that had occurred in the vicinity of the Philippine Sea in the past few days, and the Chinese fleet must have sunk in the storm. £ top £ dot £ small £ said,

Unlike China, where the attention of the whole country is focused on the ocean-going fleet, the sinking of several ships and the death of several people in China did not attract the attention of Japanese public opinion when the Ministry of the Navy concealed the disappearance of the Nisshin, and the focus of all newspapers was only on the Constitution Protection Movement.

As Japan's statehood grew, the fair distribution of power to safeguard the interests of the emerging classes remained the focus of Japan's internal affairs, and the success of the Chinese Revolution, the peasant elections, and the establishment of the Han Cabinet of Farmers (Yang Jingcheng) had a huge impact on Japan and began to jeopardize the foundation of Japan's rule: the emperor system. According to the computer knowledge of later generations, the operating software of the Japanese Sixth Army is the bushido system, and the bushido system is based on loyalty to the emperor. ’

At the same time, this kind of government similar to Japan's post-World War II system was greatly praised by liberals, people-orientedists, and republicans in Japan, who believed that China had shown a new and feasible path for many Asian dynasties, and evaluated this form of government as a 'republic with a crown', which was completely different from the kind of constitutional monarchy practiced in Japan, no matter how much power was ceded, and the country remained the private property of the emperor in the end.

In 1911, when the Japanese 6th Army sent troops to Mukden to intervene in the Chinese Revolution. There were many newspapers in the country that opposed such actions of the 6th Army, and after the defeat of the 6th Army, Katsura Taro collapsed. Many people believe that the Chinese revolution should be supported and the Chinese revolutionary government should be recognized. It was at this time that the Saionji cabinet came to power, and he also wanted to recognize the Chinese government. However, because the formal government of China had not yet been established and had to follow the steps of its ally Britain, the Japanese government did not formally recognize the new Chinese government after the armistice was agreed. When the Chinese government gradually became pro-American and began to vigorously reorganize its armaments, the Japanese industrial and commercial owners, who felt that they were threatened by the United States in the Chinese market, and the veteran Yama Prefecture, who felt the growth of the central force, worked together to bring down the Saionji cabinet, and then the cabinet was formed by Katsura Taro, who had fallen earlier.

The old feudal lords wantonly manipulated the domestic political situation and cabinet candidates. At the beginning of this year, Yukio Ozaki of the Constitutional Political Friends Association and Inukai Takeshi of the Constitutional Kuomintang put forward a motion of no confidence in the Katsura cabinet in the Diet. Historically, the Katsura cabinet should have been overthrown on February 11, 1913, and was succeeded by Gonbei Yamamoto, who came from the navy, but because of the Chinese government's aggressive military force, the invasion of the Japanese market by American goods, and China's beginning to vigorously revitalize industry, the theory of the China threat propagated by the Katsura cabinet was accepted by the majority of parliamentarians. As a result, the no-confidence case can continue to exist. However, the existence of Katsura Taro's cabinet also made the pro-constitutionalism movement enduring, so not much attention was paid to the suspected sinking of the Chinese fleet by the navy.

Public opinion ignored the disappearance of China's ocean-going fleet, but officials from the Ministry of the Navy did not dare to do so. The last time he faced the Minister of the Navy, Saito, who talked eloquently, Izo Tetsutaro was sweating at this time, but fortunately he didn't want to talk this time, and the Minister of the Navy asked the Minister of Military Orders, Goro Ijiin.

"Has China's fleet sunk?" Minoru Saito kneels on a tatami mat in a kimono. Asked with his eyes slightly closed.

"Your Excellency, we have no way to confirm for the time being whether the fleet of the Chinese ships really sank...... Maybe only after finding the Nisshin. Only then can we know what happened at that time. As the head of the Naval Command Department and the commander of the Combined Fleet, Goro Ijiin said helplessly. The task force searched the waters of the Sino-Japanese war for a whole day, but saw everything.

"Is it possible that the people of China are going to sink the Nisshin?" After being slightly silent, Minoru Saito asked a question that Goro Ijiin didn't want to face.

"Your Excellency, I'm ......" Ijiin Goro didn't know how to answer, and Izo Tetsutaro next to him saw this and said, "My lord, with the inferior gunnery of the Shina Navy, if they want to hit a heavy cruiser with a light cruiser, unless there is an accident." But even if it was an accident, it was impossible for the Rijin to abandon the ship and escape without sailors when it sank, and it was impossible for the people of China who fled in panic to stay and clean up the battlefield. ”

Iza Tetsutaro's words are reasonable, especially thinking that there will be sailors escaping when the Nisshin sinks, and the wreckage of the warship will appear, and now there are no sailors and wreckage, which means that the warship is not sunk The reasoning made Minoru Saito nod slightly. Yes, how can the Navy, which only smokes a lot, hit a heavy cruiser with a light cruiser? How could the Nisshin suddenly sink without a struggle?

Iza Tetsutaro persuaded the Minister of the Navy lightly, but this could not convince Goro Ijiin, who knew more about things. On the way back, looking at Iza who was a little complacent, Ijiin Goro said, "Izao-kun, why didn't you tell Sù Saito-sama about the mine?" Haven't you ever thought that the Nisshin was very likely to be sunk by the drifting lightning of the Shina people? ”

The Japanese Navy knew about the fact that the British cruiser tracking the Chinese fleet in the South Pacific encountered the drifting mines released by the fleet, and the British Minister to China, Zhu Erdian, also sent a note to the Chinese government on this, warning the Chinese fleet not to release drifting mines in the international shipping lanes, but this was all rounded up by Xie Zhangtai, the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who had been prepared for a long time, and Xie Zhangtai's statement was that it was not a drifting mine at all, but a tribute released by the fleet in the first day of the new year to worship their ancestors. The British cruiser made a detour when it saw an unknown dangerous object, and it would not have thought of salvaging two to make evidence, so the matter passed so easily.

In Ijiin Goro's imagination, the only possible explanation for the disappearance of the Nisshin is that the warship accidentally struck a mine and sank during the naval battle, but this still does not explain the fact that there were no sailors alive on the surface of the warship and the wreckage of the warship was missing. Who would have thought that the sinking process of the Nisshin would take less than five minutes? Who would have thought that the fierce and continuous explosions would leave the sailors with no time to escape?

"Your Excellency. Once the drifting mine is released, it is simply impossible to determine whether it will crash into itself or into an enemy ship. Iza Tetsutaro reminded. I think if the Nisshin sinks, the biggest possibility is that the people of the United States were involved in it. It was they who were involved in naval battles. Destroy the Nisshin radio and sink it. ”

"Mi people?!" The confusion on Ijiin Goro's face disappeared immediately, and his face suddenly became solemn. "But why does the U.S. Navy want to help the Chinese people? You know, Washington is behind us......"

"My lord, the Mi people sank the Nisshin, and they were worried that the Shina fleet would break through our blockade, so they sank the Shina flotilla again. So now we can't find the Nisshin, and the people can't find the fleet. "As the chief of staff of the fleet, Iza Tetsutaro's brain is not covered, and in an instant, the black and black version came, which surprised and surprised Izain Goro.

And then no matter what the Japanese are thinking, the ocean-going fleet is constantly going west, and there is the Motherland. It's home. Watching the fall of Jin Wuxi again, the sky was full of colorful clouds, Lieutenant Colonel Tian Shijie only felt that the days were extremely good, not to mention killing a cruiser, but also marching to a place one hundred and fifty nautical miles away from Naha, tonight, the fleet will pass through the first island chain mentioned by the prime minister and enter the East China Sea, if nothing else, the fleet will be able to arrive at the port in two days.

Tian Shijie stared at the sunset in the west. Political Commissar Wu Fan also went up to the bridge, approached him and said: "The General Staff has now sent a few more merchant ships over, and the new order is to plan to confuse the eyes and make a transfer plan, and the Haiqi and Hairong are too big to continue to carry merchant ships to attract ......the Japanese."

Wu Fan's words were not finished. Tian Shijie knew the plan of the General Staff Officer, and he said unhappily: "This means that you want to let Moffitt Cheng Biguang and them stay at sea as targets?" ”

Wu Fan just smiled when he saw him like this. "There's nothing wrong with you saying that."

"What about us? Will the submarines be pulled away all, or will a few be left as a consolation for them? Tian Shijie said.

"The submarines will not all be transferred. There are always a few ships left to make a good appearance. Wu Fan said: "The General Staff ordered you to leave, and I stayed." ”

"No way!" Although Tian Shijie was not satisfied with making such a sacrifice for the two cruisers. But he was grateful for the order of the General Staff to leave him. "Or I'll stay, you leave. In Moffitt's opinion, you are just a deputy in the submarine forces. ”

"Nope! You are the commander of the army, and it is not easy for the country to train a qualified naval officer. Wu Fan's expression suddenly became a little melancholy, "A political commissar like me can grasp a lot of them in the Law and Politics School and the Revival Army." I don't know how to command a submarine in battle, but you know, you also commanded a submarine formation to sink a Japanese cruiser. Peiqing, your value is greater than mine, we can't let the Chinese people down! ”

Lieutenant Colonel Tian Shijie wanted to send a telegram to the General Staff to ask him to stay, but Wu Fan's words 'I can't disappoint the countrymen' shocked his whole body, and he could only be silent about it.

While Tian Shijie and Wu Fan were talking on the bridge, Vice Admiral Moffett in the war room summoned Cheng Biguang, commander of the cruiser, Tang Tingguang, captain of the Haiqi, Lin Baoyi, captain of the Hairong, Pan Wenzhi, chief officer of the Haiqi guns, Chen Shiying, the first mate of the Hairong, and the guns of each gun. It is rare that the foreigners who only admit the reason of death did not immediately investigate the fact that the main gun of the Hairong was extremely slow due to a 'mechanical failure', but discussed a new kind of artillery technique.

"Gentlemen, I am very satisfied with the professionalism you showed in yesterday's engagement, especially Yang of the rear main gun, he hit the Japanese twice, very good!" Lieutenant General Moffitt is very good at praising his subordinates, especially when his subordinates have actual achievements, "The former main gun Huang, and the Hairong also have a good watch." But, gentlemen, there is still a gap between us and the Japanese, they are now able to do BRD private de-fi day ng (full artillery salvo), which is something we cannot do, therefore, we also have to change the practice of firing each cannon alone and change to BRD private de-fi day ng! ”

"Although I did not personally visit the Japanese warships, I guessed from the British gunnery they had learned that their method of shooting must have been through the guò distance clock and variable range shooting. The specific method is that before the cannon is fired, the first mate of the gun will measure the distance on the mast, and the setting value of the distance clock will be constantly corrected according to the latest number of the distance of the enemy ship and the variable distance rate disc, and these latest set values will be quickly transmitted to the turrets of each gun, so that the main gun can fire uniformly. After the cannon is fired, the impact timer on the mast observes the landing point of the shell and re-corrects the firing parameters. "Since the exchange of fire with the Japanese ships. Lieutenant General Moffitt has been thinking about the question of how the Japanese can do brd private de-fi day ng, more than twenty hours have passed. He suddenly frowned.

"Gentlemen, as complicated as it sounds. But I think we can do it. Lieutenant General Moffett looked at everyone and said that changing the main gun firing procedure was a big change, and he hoped to get everyone's support.

"Sir, the distance between the enemy and us changes by more than 10 meters every second in the battle, and if the time between receiving the order of the gunner's chief officer and firing the cannon exceeds 10 seconds, the deviation of the shelling will be more than 100 meters, and such shelling cannot be accurate." Rear Admiral Cheng Biguang was the first to politely object, after all, the navy has a navy tradition, and it is not a good thing to rashly change and implement new things.

"Then let's not take more than ten seconds!" Lieutenant General Moffett insisted. "We can have the first mate of the guns on the mast report the parameters every ten seconds. Or, at worst, the gun commander corrects for these few seconds before firing. Gentlemen, although I am not sure that the British, the French, and the Germans are doing this, as the firing distance increases, the turrets will not be able to measure the range and observe the point of the projectile well, and even if they stand on the mast one day, they will not be able to observe the point of impact of the shell, and perhaps only through the aircraft flying in the air to correct the shelling parameters, so we need to start changing the method of firing now......"

"Sir, the Haiqi and Hairong only have two or three main guns. If there are eight or even ten main guns like a dreadnought, how can you observe the landing point of the shells? It is important to know that the farther the shot, the more difficult it is to tell who is whose column of water stirred up by the shell. With some disdain, Lin Baoyi, the captain of the Hairong Ship, also asked. Although the Hairong ship passively avoided war. But it is the warship with the highest shelling hit rate among all the ships in the navy, which is actually the reason why the Hairong was sent to the sea to escort the ship, and Lin Baoyi is a senior old navy. Lieutenant General Moffett's skills have never been a buy-in.

"We can ......" Lieutenant General Moffitt was stumped by Lin Baoyi's question, and he said after a while. Perhaps, like the cloth sold in the trading houses. We can change the shells into various colors, and once they hit the surface of the sea, the color of the water column will also be different......"

Before Vice Admiral Moffett could finish his words, everyone in the war room burst into laughter, compared to the British three-hundred-year naval tradition, the United States Navy is still immature, and there are many people who say that Americans are naïve. Now hearing that Lieutenant General Moffitt was going to turn the shells into various colors, even the most cautious Cheng Biguang laughed.

Vice Admiral Moffitt was embarrassed, but Wu Fan, the political commissar of the submarine force, came to him. Next door to the war room, Wu Fan said to Vice Admiral Moffitt: "Mr. Lieutenant General, the General Staff has ordered us to carry out the next plan, the merchant ships will be replaced tonight, and half of the submarines will follow the merchant ships to leave for escort ......"

"Nope! Beijing cannot do that. "Lieutenant General Moffett immediately understood Beijing's intentions when he heard this, and although he opposed it, he could not give a reason." We can escort merchant ships back to Shanghai safely! ”

"The General Staff thought so before, but now the situation has changed, we have sunk the Japanese cruiser, and the Japanese will retaliate as soon as they know the truth. Now the country is trying to confuse the Japanese into thinking that the fleet has been sunk, but no one can guarantee that the Japanese will not wake up until we enter the port. Wu Fan looked at Lieutenant General Moffett, who was a little excited, and said. Mr. Vice Admiral, whether the merchant ships and the fleet are together or not, we are escorting. Plus, I'm going to stay here with the fleet! ”

"How many submarines can stay? And the seaplanes are also left? "Although Vice Admiral Moffitt was reluctant to accept the order to be a target himself, his professionalism eventually led him to accept the order, and he now only hoped that the submarines and seaplanes would be left behind.

"Seaplanes don't move, submarines ...... Five ships can be left. Wu Fan looked at Lieutenant General Moffett's expectant eyes and said.

"Thank God." Vice Admiral Moffet, who thought that there were only eight submarines in total, said happily. "If that's the case, then I'm relieved."

"The General Staff didn't want us to die." Wu Fan also smiled and said, "We will go home safely." ”

Lieutenant General Moffett's artillery meeting ended halfway through, and his alleged dyeing of cannonballs in the same colors as cloth in the trading houses made the officers who heard it laugh. Amid the laughter of these people, at two o'clock in the evening, somewhere east of Miyako Island, a merchant ship of almost the same tonnage as the Dada sailed into the fleet, and the captain of the merchant ship, Yu Sanbao, who had already received the order, ordered someone to lower the American flag at the same time, and raised the Japanese plaster flag on the ship, and the name of the ship was changed to the Niszaku Pill that had been prepared a long time ago. Half an hour later, the Niszomaru merchant ships broke away from the fleet and headed for Taiwan, while the ocean-going fleet turned north and continued to play hide-and-seek with the Japanese in the East China Sea, and if they were lucky, they could return to their home port of Zhoushan the day after tomorrow.

When the ship was changed, the merchant ship was far behind the cruiser, except for the cruiser lookout who had already been informed, no one knew that the merchant ship had been changed, and the ship force was different, under Tian Shijie's order, the first to fifth groups of the submarine formation would follow the merchant ships to the west, and only the sixth group of submarines continued to follow the fleet to the north-

Captain Hu Qinzhai, the captain of the 52nd boat, stood on the bridge, and under the starlight, he watched the submarine group go west, and his eyes were full of reluctance. He fully understood the reason for this, wasn't it just that the tanuki changed the prince, he had read it in the book. It's just that this is a clever plan for the merchant ship, but it is a disaster for the fleet, and he seems to have a premonition that the next plan is for the fleet to take the initiative to expose the merchant ship to cover the merchant ship. The tanuki in the Three Heroes and Five Righteousness changed the prince, but the prince lived to become the emperor, and the tanuki was skinned on the spot! Hu Qinzhai was restless, but the last submarine on his way west came with a farewell signal: Comrades, see you in the motherland!

The comrades-in-arms had good intentions, but the 'see you in the motherland' somehow reminded Hu Qinzhai of the 'see you in heaven' that foreigners often say in prayer. Perhaps it confirmed his premonition, the weather became extremely bad at breakfast on the second day, the sea was stormy, the sailors in the submarine were dangling in the cabin like trash fish in a can, and when it rained heavily at noon, the Haiqi in front of him came up with the command to prepare for the attack, and the submarine dived quickly in the electric bell, Hu Qinzhai waited under the sea for half an hour and did not hear the shelling sound on the sea, knowing that this should be a false alarm.

This was indeed a false alarm for the submarine force, but the people on the Haiqi did not see it that way, because they had just encountered the Shintaka protective cruiser, the capital ship of the Japanese Third Fleet. The Third Fleet was preceded by the Nanqing Fleet, a fleet deployed by the Japanese in China to cruise the Yangtze River from time to time. In 19o8, the Nanqing fleet was renamed the Third Fleet, and the commander was Rear Admiral Nawa Matachiro, and the fleet consisted of the protective cruisers Shintaka, the Tsushima protective cruisers, and the Izumi protective cruisers, as well as the gunboats Sumida and Fushimi.

Among the five battleships, the Izumi is too old and has been delisted at the beginning of this year, but the new high and Tsushima are both new ships, but the displacement of these two ships is only more than 3,300 tons, and the caliber of the main gun is only six inches, so after meeting the Chinese fleet in the storm, the new high does not open fire, but follows. The ship has been in the water for nearly ten years, and although its highest voyage is only 20 knots, it is still unhindered to track the fleet, especially after the failure of the boiler of the Haiqi, the normal sailing is only 16 knots, and the highest is only 18 knots.

Thinking that the Japanese were telegraphing, and then a number of Japanese warships would hear the news, everyone on the warship was anxious. Unlike the sinking of the Nisshin the day before yesterday, this time the General Staff did not authorize the fleet to sink the Shinataka.

"Wu, what should I do? We can't let the Japanese follow. Vice Admiral Moffett put down his binoculars and looked at Wu Fan, the political commissar of the submarine fleet who stayed behind, and said.

"But it's not a threat to us for the time being." After the merchant ship went away, Wu Fan made up his mind, "I think we should go back to Xiangshan Port according to the original plan." If the Japanese attack us, then we will fight back. ”

"I'm worried that it's not the Japanese who are firing, I'm worried that more Japanese cruisers will come when they hear the news." Although he was only more than 300 nautical miles from his home port, Lieutenant General Moffett feared that he would not be able to return to port.

His fears were correct, and at four o'clock in the afternoon, another protective cruiser of the Third Fleet, the Tsushima, appeared 13,000 kilometers in front of the fleet. As soon as the ships were damaged, then the Japanese warships would follow. But before Vice Admiral Moffett could put down his binoculars and think about how to deal with the current crisis, the anxious voice of the lookout came from the microphone, and in the storm he appeared with the third Japanese warship of the Tsushima, the battleship Kashima. To be continued......

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