The candid confession of the chief of staff, Yusaku Uehara, made Eitaro Shimohira feel that the whole world was extremely gloomy. "The mountains of the land, the Togo of the sea", such a prominent marshal suddenly left like this, and he died on the front line of the Shina, is this the god Amaterasu going to abandon Japan?

Shimohira Eitaro Osa's face was pale, and Uehara Yusaku couldn't persuade much, so he could only be silent. In fact, Marshal Oyama is already over 70 years old, and his health before the war against the branch was not as good as ten years ago, the war in Zhili was unfavorable, the troops could not attack for a long time, and the marshal was already very anxious, plus the hot food was difficult to swallow, and the cholecystitis attacked again when the stomach problem recurred, which made the marshal die so quickly. In order not to shake the morale of the army, after a secret telegram with the base camp, the news of Marshal Oyama's death was completely blocked, but this was only for the Imperial Army in China, and for the Japanese people, the cabinet and those behind the cabinet, it was still meant to vigorously publicize it, which would be an important excuse for why the army was defeated in the war, and it was much better to let the people mourn and let the people riot.

Using the death of Marshal Oyama to gain the sympathy of the people, by this time Yusaku Uehara finally understood that the empire had lost the war against Japan, and now, the great powers began to stay away from Japan, even if they did not stay away, there began to be a mockery in their eyes, and the only ally of the empire, Britain, they were useless, and the Far East Fleet used the blockade ∑of the Taiwan Strait as an excuse to stay away from the Bohai Sea, which needed their help the most, which made the Imperial Army finally in a desperate situation - Admiral Uehara read a lot of news about German submarines from the Times, Seeing that the British Royal Navy was also helpless against submarines, he began to think that it would be difficult for the more than 300,000 soldiers in Naoli to evacuate safely, even if the gods blessed him. If a third of the people can be evacuated, thank goodness.

It was August in the Western calendar, and North China, which had little rain, finally finished the rain some time ago. The scorching sun began to scorch the yellow-brown earth, and the muddy roads stiffened and then turned into dust. However, what is more annoying than the dust is the hot temperature, although it is not as high as the high temperature of more than 40 degrees in June and July, but such a dry weather makes every living thing lifeless and dying.

But even so, the Japanese troops unloading at the dock were also elated, and the arrival of the fleet made the rumors of China's blockade of the Bohai Sea self-defeating, and some people began to complain that the command should not let those Koreans go, but many more people were looking forward to how Beijing should be ......, however. Only the staff officers who stood on the side of Dagukou and looked at the countless empty wooden trestle bridges knew that these ships were far too few for the Zhili Dispatch Army, and that the fleet was coming this time, so when would it come next?

It was also a hot afternoon, in the East China Sea, more than 1,000 kilometers south of Dagukou, under the escort of several cruisers, two incomparably huge warships lined up in a formation and broke the waves at high speed. The battleship was so huge and majestic, with four twin 356mm cannons pointing straight into the sky, that no one would doubt that once the battleship fired, it could destroy a city in an instant. No matter how prosperous and huge that city is.

With this belief, Yuzaburo Kato, commander of the 1st Fleet of the Japanese Navy, stood firmly on the bridge of the Kongo with his command knife, and the battleship's ride through the wind and waves made him happy. But the current situation does not allow him to be a little relaxed.

The mighty Imperial Navy was overwhelmed by small submarines, especially since these submarines were actually from China. This made him even more unacceptable. Rotten Qing slaves, rat-like despicable tactics. This is an act that any navy in the world should despises, but the newspaper of China praises it, and thinks that the era of battleships is outdated, so he wants to let those rat-like people really understand the anger of battleships today.

"Your Excellency, there are still fifty nautical miles to Shanghai. Local reports came that the Chinese navy was defenseless. "The commander refused to be in the command room, but wanted to stand on the bridge to bask in the sun, and the chief of staff of the fleet, Yamaji Kazuzen Daisa, had to follow him to the bridge.

"Yo Xi! Have all the minefields laid by the people of China at the mouth of the Yangtze River been discovered? Lieutenant General Yuzaburo Kato still retains his majesty, but his triangular eyes and light eyebrows make the majesty to be pretended to be unspeakably cruel to others.

"Most of them have been found out, and the people of China only left the channel on the south side of the Yangtze River for merchant ships to enter and exit, and they were too confident in the Wusong Fort, so there was no minelaying on the south channel. Your Excellency, I would rather do the artillery bombardment after dark, so that the Wusong port artillery would not be able to defend itself, even if we were a little closer to the mouth of the Huangpu River. Yamaji Kazuzen Daisa said.

"No, shore artillery is not terrible, it is mines that are terrible." Yuzaburo Kato said. "Moreover, it is difficult to correct the shelling at night, the shelling of the concession is too sensitive, and it is not suitable for the empire to deal with the British and American countries now."

"What about that submarine?" After all, Yamaji Kazuzen Dasa had just taken office, and the commander was bent on firing the cannon during the day, and he had to agree.

"How wide is the channel on the south side?" Yuzaburo Kato asked.

"About six nautical miles." Yamaji Kazuzen replied.

"That's enough. What we have to do is not to say that we have to shell there, what we have to do is to panic and make the people of China scared. Today, we will shell Shanghai, tomorrow we will shell Haizhou, and the day after tomorrow we will shell Quanzhou, Xiamen, Shantou, ......, and we can only shell the cities of China within the range of naval artillery. Lieutenant General Kato seemed to be answering the chief of staff's question, and as if he was talking to himself, under the high-speed sailing, his words were blown away by the sea breeze as soon as he came out, and only the cruelty on his face lingered for a long time.

At this time, Shanghai was still prosperous, and even since the start of the Sino-Japanese war at the end of last year, it has become even more prosperous. Now, with a great victory in the war against Japan and a war in Europe, Shanghai, as the largest treaty port, has become a little more lively. Nowadays, there are no wheelbarrows on this street, rickshaws are all changed to oriental cars, and there are more pedestrians everywhere, horse-drawn carriages, automobiles, foreign firms, commercial banks, banks, schools, department stores, hotels, restaurants, brothels, and the opening of one after another, making the price of land in Shanghai almost double; In the Shanghai stock exchange, stocks, bonds, futures, and tickets are also bullish. In particular, the stocks and futures of companies related to war-related materials were speculated tenfold in a dozen days. A recreation of the madness of the stock boom four years ago.

Unlike half a month ago, when the Sino-Japanese war situation was down, even the meanest foreign newspapers in Shanghai now admit that China has taken back what it has not lost this time. But. Unlike Chinese newspapers that predicted that Japan would pay reparations ranging from 500 million to 1 billion, English newspapers unanimously believed that under the premise that Japan's powerful navy still existed, the Chinese would not receive a penny in compensation, and they could at most receive tens of millions of taels of prisoners of war food expenses like the Japanese in the Russo-Japanese War.

The compensation of tens of millions of taels or hundreds of millions of taels is not mentioned, this is just an addition in the eyes of many old and young masters, and now the imperial army has been returned to Taiwan and then restored to North Korea, which is a great event. The Huanghuang Celestial Empire finally raised its eyebrows, and after this battle, our Great China can also be regarded as a great power.

The revival of national prestige was the most enthusiastic topic of discussion at the time, but many people began to wonder whether they should take this opportunity to join all walks of life to invite the emperor to ascend the throne. You must know that this victory over the Japanese has lightened the external troubles, but this internal affairs are becoming more and more tight, other countries are emperors, but I am still only a king of Min, how can I see people when I go out?

In the heat of summer. The literati and gentry in Shanghai were thinking about how to get on the table, how to persuade them, and if they could get some benefits from it, Yu Qiaqing, who was already a leader in the business world, had no intention of doing so. According to the information he secretly obtained, the day of the European war is the time when China makes money, this season. No matter how hard you can persuade you, it's too late to do business.

It's not the same as half a month ago. At this time, Yu Qiaqing finally found the best positioning for his career, which is not to do business. For a person like him, who has connections in Beijing, has connections in foreign banks, has influence in the business community, and has business gangs behind him, the best way to do business is to set up a securities and stock trading company. Today, the listing promotion conference of Feng's Aircraft Company, which he is responsible for, is being held outside the Bund Shanghai Stock Exchange.

"Ladies and gentlemen, although the airplane is a new machine invented ten years ago, this new machine is changing with each passing day, and the more it is built, the better it will be, and one day it will be greatly developed. This new machine can not only be used in the military, but can also be used to carry people, cargo, mail, and performances, which can be described as having a bright future. Mr. Feng Ru, the general manager of today's Feng Company, is an overseas Chinese, who has won many international flight competition awards when he was abroad, and is recognized by the world as a first-class pilot, aircraft designer and manufacturer.

Feng's Aircraft Company was established in the first year of Shenwu, after the emperor's permission, the company was included in the Ministry of Industry Industrial Support Program Class A, received a loan of 200,000 yuan, now Feng's Aircraft Company is behind Nanjing, the construction of a new factory, recruiting new workers, now everyone sees the products of Feng's Aircraft Company: Feng's No. 1 aircraft, the aircraft has been on the market, it sold 25 huge ......"

There was a roadshow hall in the stock exchange, but the Feng's No. 1 machine could not be carried in, so the listing promotion meeting had to be placed outside the exchange and on the side of the Huangpu River. Although it is hot without air conditioning outdoors, there are not a few people who want to witness the plane with their own eyes, especially the man and woman standing next to the plane, the man is Lin Fuyuan, the air hero who hit three planes, and the woman is his lover, the American female aviator Catherine. Miss Stimson. Under the arrangement of the organizers, the two of them stood there smiling in flight suits made of sheepskin, but even if they were poured ice water under the smile, the sweat on their bodies was like rain.

Watching Yu Qiaqing and Boss Yu on the stage blow his company to the sky, Feng Ru, who was standing on the side, wanted to laugh but was not funny. After the founding of the new dynasty, he passed the relationship of overseas Chinese, and wrote to the Ministry of Industry on aircraft manufacturing, although the Ministry of Industry immediately replied, but the enthusiasm was lighter than before, just when he thought that the imperial court did not know the importance of aircraft, the officials of the Guangdong Department of Industry talked to him about the Ministry of Industry's development of the aircraft industry, and came to build a person to build a company to move the aircraft company to Nanjing, Wuchang, or Taiyuan, so as to rely on the local industrial base, and at the same time, he also built a company specializing in liquid-cooled engines.

Air cooling, liquid cooling is the cooling method of the engine, although Feng Ru built a liquid-cooled engine aircraft, but he was very curious why the Ministry of Engineering built yì he specialized in liquid cooling rather than air cooling, under his inquiry, the person had to take out a photo, and with a description of the performance of the plane on the photo. Feng Ru couldn't believe it at the time, and it wasn't until he went to the capital to personally fly the plane in Nanyuan that he was convinced that the domestic aircraft industry was leading in the world. The aircraft built by themselves can only be regarded as second-rate, and the aircraft company can only be regarded as second-rate, but such a second-rate aircraft company can also be used to make money from the listing. If it weren't for the Ministry of Industry's explanation of this, he would not have come to this prospectus.

Feng Ru laughed at himself. Yu Qiaqing just announced that there will be air hero Lin Fuyuan doing a flight show on the Huangpu River after a while. A large number of planes roared in, and the roar of the engines drowned out the sound of a qiē on both sides of the river, everyone had seen the planes, but such a large group of planes flying in a neat queue was still unprecedented.

The others were surprised, and Yu Qiaqing, who had always been ingenious, immediately shouted: "Gentlemen, see what? This is the plane built by the Fung Aircraft Company! Gentlemen, this is the airplane built by the Fung Aircraft Company......"

"Good! Good!! The surrounding shareholders and idlers looking at the diorama didn't know that Yu Qiaqing was just talking nonsense, and really thought that the plane made by Feng's Aircraft Company was performing, and immediately applauded.

Everyone applauded. Feng Ru, his partner Huang Qi, Zhang Nan, and Lin Fuyuan and others in his company looked at each other, they vaguely knew that the Fuxing Army had an extremely powerful air force, but no one had seen it until now, and now dozens of planes suddenly appeared, what happened to this, could it be that the Japanese called?

While several people were suspicious, Lieutenant General Lin Wenqian, commander of the East China Theater who was sitting in Wusongkou, Shanghai, was listening to the report of his subordinates:

“…… The Japanese Navy had six cruisers. Two 20,000-ton battleships are heading for Wusongkou, and according to the airship's visual inspection, these two ships should be the Japanese Navy's newly built battleship Kongo and Hiei battleship, and their intention is unlikely to break through the Yangtze River. Rather, they want to bombard all parts of Shanghai in order to create chaos."

After the General Staff ordered the encirclement and annihilation of the Japanese army in Zhili, Shanghai, the Taiwan Strait, and Humen. In all three places, patrol airships or patrol planes were added to prevent the Japanese navy from shelling coastal cities. Disrupting shipping from Shanghai to the coast of the Philippines. However, so far, the Japanese army has blocked the strait. However, coastal shipping was still unimpeded, so the enemy ships in the strait did not send torpedo bombers to expel them. But now the Japanese naval fleet has suddenly appeared, and this is not for the exercise. Thinking of this, Lin Wen said: "Has the Air Force notified?" ”

"Report to the commander, the Air Force has been informed, three squadrons of torpedo bombers have been dispatched, and the other two are on standby, in case the Japanese have other plans." Staff Officer reported.

"Is the fort ready?" Lin Wenwei thought that it was Japan's most cutting-edge battleship, and he felt a little uneasy in his heart, not knowing what tricks the Japanese would come up with.

"Report to the commander, it's all ready." The staff officer replied. After he finished speaking, he saw that the commander did not ask any more questions, saluted, and went out.

"Are the Japanese really going to take a gamble?" Chief of Staff Zhou Si was a little puzzled. He was a little confused about what the ship was doing in Shanghai this day. The Yangtze River is better, the channel of the Huangpu River is narrow, if the battleships of more than 20,000 tons are squeezed in, then there is no way out, and the Huangpu River is the Wusongkou Battery, and they have just replaced those cannons below 200mm and modified ten German fast guns of 305 caliber, are they not afraid of being sunk by these new guns?

"That's what it means." Lin Wenqian was silent and said a word in a shallow manner. "They can't be here for the Wusongkou Fort, right? Naval guns bombarded shore guns, and it seemed that they wanted to fight. ”

While Lin Wenqian was talking, Colonel Liu Zuocheng, the commander of the torpedo bomber wing who led the flight, had just arrived in Chuansha, and he could already see the sea. Unlike other pilots who danced and were glad to finally appear on the stage, Colonel Liu Zuocheng had a solemn face, for fear that the pilots would not be able to play their usual effect, after all, they had hit the live target of the merchant ship, but they had not yet hit the live target of the battleship. If the Japanese had had the foresight to load anti-aircraft machine guns or anti-aircraft guns like training ships, the casualties on their side would have been great.

Colonel Liu Zuocheng was thinking about it, and the group had already flown to the sea, when the voice of Huang Guangrui, the leader of the first squadron, suddenly came from the earphones, "Enemy ships have been discovered!" Enemy ships spotted!! ”

On the blue sea, the Japanese Navy fleet rushing down on the north side is particularly conspicuous, six cruisers are escorting two 10,000-ton ships with three chimneys and two masts breaking through the waves, looking at the Japanese Navy battle flag and commander flag hanging high on the mast, Colonel Liu Zuocheng's pupils contracted and his heart tightened violently, this is the Japanese Navy's newest battleship Kongo, such a big ship, it's a pity... It's a pity that the command requires that it not be sunk.

Colonel Liu Zuocheng didn't know which bastard gave this order, but he knew military discipline well and didn't want to disobey this order at all. adjusted his mentality a little, and before he could give orders to the squadrons, Yang Yixian, the captain of the second squadron, shouted in the channel: "What kind of ship is there, two King Kongs?" ”

"It doesn't matter what kind of ship he is." Colonel Liu Zuocheng shouted loudly, "Act immediately, target, cruiser!" ”

The tube radio is not as small as the spark gap radio, it is not only inherently small, but also will not be interfered with by the spark plug in the gasoline engine, but even so, for the torpedo bombers attacking in formation, the radio is only equipped to the squadron leader, and the squad down can only be gestured by the squadron leader.

Liu Zuocheng gave an order here, and the first and second squadrons immediately adopted a head-on attack tactic as they did during training, that is, the two squadrons approached head-on at an angle of 60 degrees to the left and right in line with the course of the Japanese ships. If it turns to the right, its left flank is exposed to the torpedo bomber formation to its left; If he does not turn to the left or right, then the torpedo bombers on the left and right can attack him.

Just as a torpedo bomber saw a Japanese ship as soon as it flew to the surface of the sea, the Japanese ship also saw a sudden torpedo bomber for the first time, and Vice Admiral Yuzaburo Kato, who was standing on the bridge, suddenly saw with a telescope the torpedoes hanging under the belly of this large number of flying planes, and the whole person seemed to have been struck by lightning, and his face suddenly turned yellow.

The reason why the Admiralty dared to send King Kong and Hiei out was because the speed of the two ships exceeded 25 knots, which was untraceable by the Shina submarine, and as long as the two ships did not fall into the encirclement of the Shina submarine, then even if there was a Shina submarine by their side, they could retreat with their whole body;

In addition, another reason for sending these two cutting-edge battleships out is that the 14-inch 45-fold naval guns on the Kongo-class are the latest design of the British Wicks shipyard, and because the visibility in the North Sea is too low, the combat distance is generally within 10,000 meters of the British battleships, the battleships of this class paid great attention to the gun range at the beginning of the construction, in order to obtain a range of more than 20,000 meters, the Japanese Navy specially asked the Weeks shipyard to increase the elevation angle of the Kongo-class main guns to 25 degrees, This elevation angle makes the range of the shells must be more than 20,000 miles, although under the current observation technology, due to the limitation of accuracy, such a long range is not much use, but the Kongo-class battleships have such performance.

Now, it is precisely this ultra-long range that has caused the Admiralty staff to send these two ships out to shell coastal cities in China, such as Shanghai, where the firing range of more than 20 kilometers will enable the King Kong to shell Shanghai cities outside the range of the Wusong Battery, that is, at the mouth of the Yangtze River. Even if such artillery bombardment is inaccurate, such an action is intended to harass and contain it, and as long as the shells do not fall into the concession, any shells that fall there can cause panic among the people of China.

What the navy wants is to create panic, and once this happens, after the huge crater caused by the 14-inch shell is reported by the Shina newspaper, the Shina government will definitely send Shina submarines to protect the cities in the open sea, so that the blockade of the Bohai Sea will be lightened, and the Imperial Army will have a greater possibility of escaping from the ascension.

Watching dozens of torpedo planes getting closer and closer, Lieutenant General Yuzaburo Kato, who didn't know the secret position of those flying planes, only knew that there was a fourteen-inch main gun, a six-inch secondary gun, and a number of torpedo tubes, and there was no weapon at all to deal with this group of vultures falling from the sky.

Anyone who faces a swarm of torpedo bombers for the first time will be at a loss, Lieutenant General Kato is a ' The order of the left full rudder suddenly completely exposed the right side of the fleet to the torpedo bomber squadron on its right side, seeing the prey so obediently send the flanks to himself, the captain of the first squadron, Major Huang Guangrui, couldn't help licking his teeth, he made a gesture in his hand, and the other three squad leaders who flew side by side with him retreated slightly to their own squad after receiving the order, and then the four squads of sixteen torpedo planes began to line up in a wide straight line according to the battle formation, they were like a sickle swinging towards the Japanese fleet that was full rudder on the left, and the lightning strike began。 (To be continued......)