Episode 152 Ah, Warship (9/Completed)

On the evening of February 1st, under the last rays of the setting sun, the Ming army's huge task force, which had been assembled, marched northwestward on the sea. It was divided into three waves.

The first wave was the bombardment fleet, which was mainly composed of battleships and cruisers, supplemented by destroyers and minesweepers. The warship fleet moved the fastest, with an overall speed of 20 knots.

The main ships in the fleet include: three battleships - Zhengde, Changping, Yanping; one battlecruiser - Zhurong; four heavy cruisers - Lu Bu, Li Guang, Wei Qing and Yue Fei

Not to mention bombardment, it is a fleet decisive battle at sea. This is also a formidable force.

The second wave is the troop transport fleet, which is mainly composed of troop carriers, landing craft, and cargo ships that transport heavy weapons in urgent need after landing, with destroyers and light cruisers as escorts. The troop transport fleet is second in speed, with an overall speed of 15 knots.

The third wave is the logistics fleet, which is mainly composed of various supply ships, cargo ships, and oil tankers, with destroyers as escorts. The supply fleet is the slowest, with an overall speed of 10 knots.

This task force is not equipped with an aircraft carrier. Because it is fighting in the Bohai Sea, the airspace is not large, and the Ming army has already controlled Shandong south of the Yellow River and the Dongying strategic airport. The land-based aircraft have sufficient range and are fully capable of providing aircraft for this mission.

Air cover.

…

The large fleet sailed on the dark sea. In front of it was the setting sun gradually sinking into the sea, and behind it was already darkness.

At about half past five, the sailors watched the sun in front of them sink completely below the surface of the sea. Suddenly, except for the place where it just entered the sea, there was only a little red light, and the entire sea and sky had plunged into darkness and entered night.

The moon, which had risen long ago, is now becoming more conspicuous, but it is also obscured by clouds from time to time. The entire fleet seems to have disappeared from the sea, blending into the dark sea. Only in the distance, through the

The clear dividing line between sea and sky can barely distinguish the dark silhouette of the warship.

The Japanese destroyers following from a distance could no longer rely on sight, but could only rely on passive sonar to track the Ming fleet.

...At five o'clock in the evening, we will gather from the outside of Bohai Sea and sail at a speed of 20 knots. We will approach Tianjin exactly between four and five o'clock tomorrow morning and launch an artillery bombardment. Attack at dawn. This is the consistent combat habit of the Ming army.

…

At this moment, there is another fleet guarding the outside of Port Arthur Bay. This is the Japanese fleet blocking the gate of Port Arthur. The main force is the battleship Fuso, accompanied by two heavy cruisers: Myoko and Mogami;

Light cruisers: Isuzu, Avukuma; and six destroyers. In addition, there are two fast battleships: Haruna and Kirishima, which are arriving from Japan at a high speed of 28 knots for reinforcements.

This was obviously not just to deal with the three Qing cruisers in the harbor, but to target the Qing fleet directly.

However, both Tokyo and Nanjing knew in their hearts that even if these two fast battleships arrived in time, they would not be a match for the Ming fleet. This could only be a posturing. If they were really planning to fight, they would at least still be able to fight.

One or two more battleships and four or five cruisers would have to be mobilized to barely maintain balance.

At seven o'clock in the evening, the first wave of the Ming army's fleet, that is, the artillery fleet composed of battleships, sailed past the Miaodao Islands from the north and entered the Bohai Sea. The Lushun Peninsula in the north was gradually left behind by them.

Several Japanese destroyers following from a distance quickly sent a coded message back to Tokyo about this movement. The Navy Department and Cabinet in Tokyo were working overtime and meeting for this purpose, and were staring at the movements of this Ming army fleet. After hearing the news, everyone from top to bottom was shocked.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

...The Ming army indeed attacked Tianjin, rather than assisting the Lushun fleet to leave the port. Although using such a large fleet to respond to three Qing cruisers was a bit exaggerated. Now, this possibility has finally been denied.

.

…

At eight o'clock in the evening, the second wave of troop transport fleet passed through the Bohai Strait, and the leading destroyer escort had already sailed into the Bohai Sea.

Suddenly, the flagship sent out a telegraph signal of "all turn". Suddenly, the entire fleet was turning around and changing its course to 015, which is 15 degrees east of due north. That is the direction of Lushun.

Several Japanese destroyers following the second wave of fleet, the sonar soldiers on them shouted almost immediately:

"The enemy fleet turns—!!!"

Then he covered the earphones with one hand and slowly turned the sonar handle with the other hand. He closed his eyes and listened attentively to the changes in the direction of the propellers of the Ming army fleet. After a few minutes, the course of the Ming army fleet stabilized at 015. Almost

At the same time, the Japanese sonar soldiers on several destroyers shouted at the same time:

"The enemy fleet's new heading - 015!"

In the command room of the flagship of the Japanese destroyer fleet, several young officers looked at the fleet commander and said excitedly:

"Commander! What should we do!"

The commander of the destroyer fleet, who was also very young, paced under the red light, looked at the darkness outside the porthole, and said thoughtfully:

"We have been deceived. The enemy is not going to land in Tianjin, they are going to Lushun! ... Don't delay, send the report immediately! We must also seize advantageous positions immediately. Send an order to everyone to occupy the left and right sides of the enemy fleet.

Change tailing to parallel! Keep the distance at 2,500 meters, and prepare all torpedo launches!"

The communications officer immediately went to generate electricity, and the first mate shouted into the microphone:

"Right rudder 35 degrees!"

The following is repeated:

"Yes! Right rudder! 35 degrees!!!"

"New heading 015!"

"Yes! New heading! 015!!!"

"Full speed ahead!"

"Yes, full speed ahead!!!"

The entire destroyer leaned over half-way, and its speed suddenly accelerated.

"Foredeck torpedo preparation!"

"Foredeck torpedoes, in position!!!"

"Qud deck torpedo preparation!"

"Stern deck torpedoes, in position!!!"

A few minutes later, the chief mate reported that the entire destroyer fleet, a total of eight ships, had carried out the order and was moving at full speed towards their new positions.

"Very good..." The commander nodded slightly, his eyes gleaming sharply, and said softly, "Now, we are just waiting for Minai's order."

…

The cabinet and military headquarters in Tokyo also learned the news immediately. Suddenly, both groups of people were stunned and speechless.

Hirota Hongyi closed his eyes, leaned back on his chair, and didn't say anything. He knew that his situation was over.

His cabinet was inherently deficient and full of hidden dangers when it was first formed. It was the result of reluctant compromises by all parties. After the February 26th Incident, domestic and foreign affairs were unclear. He himself did not want to be prime minister and did not want to wade into this muddy water. After all, there were people ahead of him.

Four prime ministers were assassinated.

Saionji Konobo, the senior figure in the world, originally considered two candidates, one was Duke Konoe Fumimaro and the other was Hirota Koki. However, Konoe Fumimaro was too cunning to become prime minister despite his illness. Saionji had no choice but to forcefully invite Hirota.

Hirota Hongyi was forced to form a cabinet under pressure.

However, as expected, this cabinet did very poorly. The Hirota cabinet was called the "puppet cabinet" and did not have much real power. What's more serious is that the relationship between the cabinet and the military department and the parliament are very tense. The military and political affairs

There are many conflicts and disagreements between the land and the sea, and they often cannot pee in the same pot. In the previous stage of Riming's secret agreement, the two families were at odds with each other.

In terms of Northeast Asia, in Hirota's view, Japan had taken advantage of it, but in the view of the military department, Japan had suffered a big loss. Later, in the "Observer Incident" in Fengtian, the Japanese Army Ministry wanted to take tough measures, but

The Ming Dynasty strangled the Malacca route, and coupled with the opposition of Hirota Hongki and Nagano Shushen, the Army could only endure this tone.

Now the Ming Dynasty is competing with Japan for the Lushun Fleet. This time Japan can win the battle. If it loses to Nan Ming again, then his cabinet will really not be able to support it.

Hirota Koki has made preparations to resign as Cabinet Chief. Now it seems that he has to submit his resignation.

…

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister," said War Minister Juichi Terauchi, holding back his anger, "What should we do? Is there no other way but to sit still?"

Hirota Hongyi let out a long sigh:

"Yongye, please tell me."

Nagano Siushen's forehead was covered with beads of sweat at this moment, but he still managed to remain calm and said:

"Now the Qing ships have not left the port, but the Ming army has gone to Lushun to land. And Lushun... no, the entire Fengtian was assigned to the Ming Dynasty in the agreement. What else can we do when the Ming Dynasty lands there?...General

We can't just start a war with the Ming Dynasty."

Juichi Terauchi sneered and said:

"This will happen sooner or later."

Nagano Shushen glanced at him and said:

"Even if we want to start a war now, we don't have enough troops in Lushunkou. We can put into use immediately only one battleship, two heavy cruisers and two light cruisers. But the Ming army came this time with three battleships.

a battlecruiser

, four heavy cruisers, and four light cruisers. The Ming army has been prepared for a long time, just to prevent us from starting to use force. Now the opponent's tonnage and firepower are two or three times that of ours. The Minister of War can do the calculations himself.

, can you fight?"

Juichi Terauchi said:

"Don't we still have two battleships heading to Port Arthur?"

Nagano Shushen said coldly:

"The Haruna and the Kirishima have just passed the Tsushima Strait, and are still 500 nautical miles away from Port Arthur. They can't reach it within ten hours. And the Ming fleet is already at the gate of Port Arthur. And...even if

Haruna and Kirishima can arrive in time, but the opponent still has one more battlecruiser and four cruisers than us. Our chances of winning are still very low."

Hirota Hongyi whispered again:
To be continued...