Episode 192 The birth of a new overlord of the seas

After sinking the two aircraft carriers, Akagi and Kaga, after an afternoon of repeated bombardment, the Ming army sank the battleships Hyuga and Kongo, which had already been seriously damaged, and seriously damaged the Haruna and Kirishima. It was not until dusk, when the sun was setting and visibility was greatly reduced, that the troops were withdrawn.

After nightfall on the 15th, the main fleet of the Ming army turned around again and pursued the Japanese fleet to the east. The main force of the Japanese fleet was completely lost, and this time there was no way to fight back. However, the two remaining battleships, Kirishima and Haruna, were seriously injured and moved slowly, and were easily caught up by the Ming fleet.

The final battle began. Without any suspense, after more than two hours of artillery fighting, two seriously injured Japanese battleships sank one after another under the superior artillery fire of the Ming army. There were some wrecked cruisers and destroyers left, and at this time they had no scruples, and they scattered and fled at high speeds.

At this point, the "decisive battle fleet" of the Japanese army, which was raging at the beginning, was almost wiped out. The Japanese Navy lost the battleships Mutsu, Isei, Yamashiro, Hyuga, Kongo, Haruna, and Kirishima, as well as the aircraft carriers Akagi and Kaga, as well as a number of light and heavy cruiser-class destroyers. And the Ming army, the capital ships only lost the battleship Deyong.

After two days and one night of decisive battle at sea, the main force of the Imperial Japanese Navy was mostly lost and was pulled down from the seat of the Asian maritime hegemon in one fell swoop. And a new Asian maritime hegemon was born, the winner of this decisive battle: the Ming Empire.

On the night of the 16th, the triumphant Ming fleet sailed into the port of Kaohsiung for rest, and the wounded battleships were also to be overhauled. When the fleet sailed into Kaohsiung Port, the fireworks in the port lit up the entire night sky, and tens of thousands of citizens in Kaohsiung City flocked to the port, cheering and greeting, vying to witness the arrival of the heroic fleet.

Also tonight, the night sky of Nanjing was also lit up by fireworks. For the past two days, the public has been following the progress of this naval battle in the western Pacific through the radio. It was only at this moment, after the fleet entered the port of Kaohsiung safely, that the final results of the naval battle were broadcast on the radio. And most of the people had already expected the final victory result from the two-day war broadcast. It's just that many people didn't expect this victory to be so brilliant.

Many stores are taking advantage of this to make big promotions...... Even the business of the tavern restaurant is much better than usual. People were half celebrating the victory of the navy, and half of them were also celebrating that the Ming Dynasty had basically gotten rid of the two-sided war, and the maritime threat from Japan had been minimized. Not only was the danger to the lives of their relatives serving in the navy minimized, but also because of the settlement of Japan, the sea routes were unimpeded, and the Ming army could also concentrate its energy and resources on the Western Front, so that even the land war on the Western Front would end much earlier.

That night, Empress Zhu Yourong, Minister Shen Rongxuan, Chief of General Staff of the General Command Department Tang Yunsheng, and Chief of the General Staff of the Navy Xiong Dingming all delivered their respective speeches on the radio. The next day, on the morning of the 17th, the Cabinet Government held a press conference, which was attended by more than 100 reporters from major newspapers and periodicals at home and abroad. One of the issues that reporters are most concerned about is Mingguo's next policy toward Japan. If Japan sues for peace, what conditions will the Ming Diet propose? In the eyes of the reporters, Japan, as a country, has fought a war to this extent, and it is time to seek peace.

Shen Rongxuan personally answered this question:

"My Government's position on this issue is very clear. If the Japanese side is willing to come to the negotiating table, we would welcome it very much. We will not put forward any excessive conditions, and they will be well within the conditions that a victorious country would normally offer. If Japan is willing to withdraw from the war now, we will only focus on war reparations and the return of the fruits of aggression, and will not put forward conditions that will damage Japan's territorial integrity. We do not want the war to continue, because it is a great suffering for the peoples on both sides. ”

The attitude of the Ming Empire was quickly published in the big newspapers all over the world. Regarding the wording of the Ming Shousuke "returning the fruits of aggression", governments and the media have speculated that it is estimated that it is aimed at North Korea and the Ryukyus**. Because these two places were originally the best countries, they were indeed seized by Japan in recent decades. And once these two places are **, they will definitely become the "satellite states" of the Ming Empire, like the Kingdom of Siam, and become the two "big pincers" that contain Japan in the south and the north geographically.

Once Korea is included in the Ming sphere of influence, it will be much safer for Ming ships to enter the Sea of Japan in the future, and they will certainly get a series of logistics harbors on the Korean coast. Once the Ryukyu Islands are included in the sphere of influence of the Ming Kingdom, the entry of Ming ships into the Pacific Ocean will be unimpeded in the future. The original Japan-Ryukyu Island Chain was a barrier across the Ming Kingdom's path into the Pacific Ocean. If Ryukyu **, then the southern half of this island chain is in the hands of the Ming Kingdom.

Just when everyone was staring at Japan and taking the initiative to sue for peace, Xiang Xiaoqiang began to contradict him again. He said that if the Ming Dynasty only demanded a certain amount of reparations and did not ask Japan to give up Korea and the Ryukyus, then Japan would definitely sit down at the negotiating table immediately. If the Ming Dynasty intends to ask Japan to give up Korea and the Ryukyus, then wait, this war is still early. Japan will never seek peace unless it is blockaded for a year and a half and the state apparatus is on the verge of collapse.

When he said this, Zhu Yourong didn't believe it, the ministers didn't believe it, and even the generals of the headquarters didn't believe it. In everyone's opinion, a country has fought a war to this extent - the elite of the army has lost its essence, the main force of the navy has lost most of it, and not a drop of oil can be brought in. Not even Fourteen Gege was convinced. In her impression, Japan is still a fairly civilized, civilized, and rational nation. But Fourteen Gege returned to China very early, in the late twenties. At that time, Japan was indeed a relatively civilized, rational and tolerant country. In the thirties, Japan was ultra-nationalistic, the whole country was crazy, and the whole people were angry and youthful, and she did not personally experience this process. Although Fourteen Gege grew up in Japan, she still speculates about Japan from the perspective of a foreigner, just like everyone else.

No matter how you speculate, Japan has not yet sued for peace. Then the blockade of Japan and the war at sea must be carried out. But now that the two sides have changed their offensive and defensive positions, Da Ming is much easier. Now it is the turn of the Japanese Navy to retreat in the harbor to preserve its strength, and the Ming Navy to cruise the western Pacific Ocean with great force.

On the 20th, a group of cruisers and destroyers in Kaohsiung Harbor, which were not seriously damaged, were refueled and left the port after receiving simple repairs, and headed east into the western Pacific Ocean to escort the US merchant fleet in the waters of Hawaii.