I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 186 Blitz on Spain

"Damn it, Japan declared war on Spain!"

"How dare he? Spain belongs to me, and he wants to be my enemy, France!"

"Don't get excited, Mr. Roches, we have to figure out what is Japan's basis for declaring war?"

As soon as Japan declared war, the news was aroused in Kyoto, Yagyu gave a public speech in Osaka, and the army marched into Osaka and left by ship for Kyushu.

Naturally, such an action could not be concealed from the ambassadors of Britain, France and the Netherlands. Parkes and Roches immediately gathered together to discuss.

Parkes continued: "According to Eto Shinpei and others, the Japanese navy has an ironclad battleship of more than 5000 tons, so they dared to declare war on Spain."

Roches said angrily: "More than 5000 tons, what is this? Our fleet has four armored battleships of five to six thousand tons in Vietnam. One Japanese one is nothing. Yagyu Kigeon is really arrogant. I, France, will definitely give Japan A lesson!”

Van Bols immediately responded: "This time Japan dispatched a fleet and nearly [-] troops. This is not to teach Spain a lesson, but to seize Spanish territory.

If Japan is allowed to occupy the Philippine Islands, then Japan can go to Vietnam to the north and the Dutch East Indies to the west. Mr. Parkes, we must stop it. "

Parkes nodded and said: "I understand that Yagyu went too far this time. In this way, Mr. Roches, you and I will reply to the country together. This time we will teach Japan a lesson, which will just hit Yagyu's prestige."

Roches nodded and said: "I have written a letter back to China a long time ago. This time, I want the Far East Fleet to directly enter Osaka Bay, land ashore, and enter Kyoto.

Mr. Parkes, I think you should also join us, let us join hands to enter the enemy's capital like we did in the Qing Dynasty. "

Parkes was also a little moved. Speaking of which, during the Second Opium War, he was detained by the Qing Dynasty, and then the British and French forces attacked Beijing.

"Okay, I will also report this matter to the parliament."

After Roches discussed with Parkes, he angrily went to Tokugawa Qingxi and accused him unceremoniously: "You Japan declared war on Spain without consulting us France. That is a provocation to us France. Germany Ambassador Sichuan, do you want Japan to become an enemy of France?"

Tokugawa Yingxi had a headache, but Yagyu had already told him to have a tough attitude, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and said in a cold voice: "Mr. Roches, we in Japan are not the slaves of France who come and go at your command. Don't think of us as Spain.

Now Spain is shielding the murderer of our citizens. Spain's actions have seriously hurt our emotions. Only a declaration of war can save our face.

As for France's attitude, we don't care. This matter has nothing to do with you. Don't get involved! "

Roaches was a little surprised by Tokugawa Kexi's tough attitude. He did not expect that the other party was not afraid of his threat at all.

Roches sneered and said with an angry smile: "Okay, Ambassador Tokugawa, remember your stubbornness today, our fleet will tell you the answer."

Tokugawa Kexi looked at the French ambassador slamming the door and leaving, and he was also worried. When he was the shogun, the shogunate cooperated with France and knew more about France than anyone else.

"Why is Prime Minister Yagyu not afraid of France? Is it because of Prussia?"

The anxious Tokugawa Yoshihiro immediately came to Matsudaira Yongho for questioning. Matsudaira Yongho shook his head and said: "I don't know the specific situation, but Prime Minister Yagyu started planning a war with Spain a long time ago."

"So early?" Tokugawa Yingxi was surprised that Yagyu had been planning for a long time. "It seems that the Prime Minister has already considered the possibility of France joining the war. Could it be that Prussia is willing to help us start a war with France?"

Matsudaira Yongho shook his head and said: "I don't know either. Among all the people in the cabinet, I am afraid that only the Prime Minister knows the complete plan."

Tokugawa Yoshiki immediately synthesized all the information and analyzed: "When the Prime Minister got married, he had a secret chat with the Prussian Ambassador Mr. Barland for a while, and then Mr. Barland returned to Europe and returned to Japan three months later.

This happened last year. Could it be that Prussia wants to join us? But I learned during my time in Prussia that the Prussian nobles felt that war with France would take at least several years and could not be so soon. "

Matsudaira Yongho is still confused. He shook his head and said: "Mr. Tokugawa, I really don't know anything, but I believe that the Prime Minister must have planned everything before doing this. Maybe it is really Prussia and France. It’s not necessarily a war.”

"Impossible, absolutely impossible." Tokugawa rejoiced but still didn't believe it in the end.

But the fact is that France declared war on Prussia.

On July [-], European time, France declared war angrily over Prussia's involvement in the Spanish throne, and the war began!

Japan did not have time to get the news so quickly, but Yagyu was sure that the Franco-Prussian War would break out. Therefore, without waiting for news from Europe, he left Kyoto directly, handed over the government affairs to Matsudaira Yoshiho, and rushed to Nagasaki himself to take charge of the conquest of Spain.

The newly built armored battleship is captained by Sakamoto Ryoma, and the officers and men on board are all elites selected from the navy. Although the new armored battleship has not yet reached its strongest combat power in a short period of time, it has already achieved preliminary combat capabilities.

"Everyone, this battle is different from the previous battle in the Beibu Gulf. We won that battle through an ambush. Although people have looked down on us since then, countries such as Britain and France still look down on us.

This time, we are declaring war openly and openly. Our opponent Spain is vulnerable, but France behind him is the overlord of Europe!

We have fought with France more than once. This time, we want to defeat the French head-on and let them know that Japan is not a small country! "

"Oh!"

"Go to war!"

"Defeat the French and strengthen our country's prestige!"

Yagyu looked at the sea in the distance and said loudly: "His Majesty the Emperor has decided on the name of this new ship. From today on, his name will be Fuso!"

Sakamoto Ryoma solemnly took over the flag and saluted: "Thank you, His Majesty the Emperor, for the name. I will definitely live up to the expectations of His Majesty the Emperor and the country, and lead the fleet back victoriously!"

The Fuso immediately set sail and set sail with the entire Japanese fleet.

In addition to the Fuso, there were also a number of steam battleships such as the Carolini, Shikamaru, Koshi, and Keio, totaling 38 ships, plus thirty transport ships, heading towards Spain in a mighty manner.

As soon as Japan declared war, the army set off, so Roches was extremely angry. He had already sent someone to deliver the message, but he might not be able to catch up with the Japanese army in time.

The Japanese fleet led by Sakamoto Ryoma traveled from Nagasaki, arrived in Ryukyu to replenish supplies, then went to Hainan Port in the South China Sea to replenish supplies, and then headed south to attack Manila on Luzon Island.

Manila is the center of Spanish rule in the Philippines, where Spain's only fleet and main troops are stationed.

Japan's battle plan was very simple. Take Manila in one battle and quickly defeat the Spanish resistance without giving France a chance to react. A few days later, a huge Japanese fleet appeared in the waters near Luzon Island.

Two small Spanish patrol ships encountered the Japanese fleet that appeared and hurriedly retreated. However, the speed of the sailboat was no match for the steam ship. The two patrol ships were quickly overtaken by the steam warship and captured.

Sakamoto Ryoma immediately said to the first officer: "Immediately send an order to speed up. If the enemy patrol ship does not return within the specified time, the Spaniards will definitely be on guard."

The flagship immediately signaled and began to accelerate.

Captains such as Takehiro Enomoto and Kaibei Tsugawa immediately ordered the ship to speed up.

Manila, a prosperous port as usual, busy ships plying the sea, the port is bustling with people, incoming ships are busy unloading, and outgoing ships are busy loading.

The Spanish warships in the distance monitored everything around them to prevent the locals from causing trouble. At the same time, they were recording the ships so that they could be compared with the port records to make sure that no ships were evading taxes.

The commander of the Spanish fleet was thinking about afternoon tea comfortably in the naval port. He walked out of the room and looked at the prosperous Manila port from the balcony on the second floor. He smiled and said: "Ha, the Suez Canal has been opened, and our port has become more prosperous. Good times. It’s still to come.”

The commander had not been satisfied for a long time when an officer came to report: "Your Excellency, commander, our patrol ship has lost contact."

The commander's mood instantly deteriorated. He walked back into the house, put down the coffee cup, and said angrily: "Who is going out on patrol today? Didn't I tell you not to go on patrol after drinking?

This group of people doesn't take my words as commander seriously. It's really hateful. I want to hang him! "

The officer immediately replied: "Your Majesty Commander, Gonzalez and the others are in charge of patrolling. They will never go on patrol again after drinking alcohol."

"Gonzales...he definitely won't." The commander put away his anger and leaned back on his chair and asked, "Did he go after the pirates? After the shipping routes boomed this year, the injured Moro pirates became active again. .”

The officer nodded hesitantly and said, "It's very possible, but I think Commander, you should order the military port to be on alert."

The commander did not take it seriously and said: "Alert? No need to make such a fuss. The empire's fleet has been in Manila for hundreds of years and has never had any problems. If nothing happens, there will be no problems in the future."

"boom!"

The loud noise, like a thunderbolt in the clear sky, caused the expressions of the officers and commanders in the room to change.

The commander hurriedly stood up and looked outside, only to see that the sea outside the military port was covered with steam warships, among which the Fuso in the center was the most eye-catching.

The commander made a sharp blast: "Oh God, where did the fleet come from! How did they appear!"

When the officer saw the flag flying on the ship, his face changed drastically and he said in horror: "Commander, that is the Japanese fleet!"

"Japan? Damn it, they started war without declaring it. Don't be stunned. Get people to sail out quickly. We really can't let the forts fight back!"

The commander was so anxious that he ordered people to fight. He immediately ran out and asked people to send a message to the government.

In the waters of Manila Port, more than 30 steam warships fired at important value targets such as forts and warships.

The Fuso's main gun destroyed the fort's wall with one shot, and then a few shots directly destroyed a fort.

Under the cover of the fleet, those steamships of about a thousand tons rushed in quickly, and the army soldiers who had been drifting on the sea for a long time immediately vomited.

The 101st Division of the Gyeonggi Corps was the first to land. They had the best equipment and strong combat effectiveness, so they took the lead.

As soon as the 101st Division landed, it immediately separated its forces and quickly broke into the port in a skirmish formation.

"Bang bang bang..."

The Spanish army responsible for guarding the port immediately opened fire on the Japanese troops who came ashore.

The officer commanding from the front immediately ordered the troops to start a counterattack.

The number of the 101st Division was far greater than that of the Spanish army. Tens of thousands of people entered the port, and the more than 100 soldiers defending the port could not make any waves.

In just one face-to-face encounter, more than half of the Spanish soldiers were killed or wounded. The rest saw that their weapons were too powerful and gave up immediately.

In less than half an hour, the Spanish soldiers abandoned the dock and retreated directly.

As for the Spanish navy in the military port, it was blocked in the port and could not advance or retreat. It was unable to resist the Japanese naval fleet's pressing step by step.

The Spanish side had already exploded. The naval commander asked Cerrado for support, and the defeated Spanish army quickly fled towards the government.

Cerrado was so anxious in the governor's room that he quickly asked the people around him: "Why did the Japanese come over so quickly? Please ask France for help!"

A staff officer replied: "Sir Governor, France is a bit far away from us. I'm afraid we will be captured by Japan before the French warships come to rescue.

Now we can only abandon Manila and retreat to the north. Only this way is it safe! "

"Impossible!" Cerrado slammed the table and shouted, "Our strength is concentrated in Manila, and it is not necessarily safe to evacuate Manila.

You have to know that in the past we relied on the fleet to suppress the locals. Now that the fleet is besieged, we have escaped with some defeated soldiers. The local indigenous people will not let us go!
Tell everyone that we must hold on and wait until French support arrives. If this fails, we will surrender to the Japanese. "

This order was quickly conveyed to all ministries, and the Spaniards from all over the country began to retreat towards the Governor's Palace.

The Spanish navy in the port resisted for less than 10 minutes before abandoning all its warships and retreating directly to the Governor's Palace.

This was a wise choice. Their ship was never an opponent of the Japanese fleet. If they continued to stay here, they would only be destroyed by the Japanese army. But now that they have withdrawn to the Governor's Mansion, there is still a glimmer of hope.

On the Fuso, the first mate reported to Sakamoto Ryomahui: "Captain, the Spanish have abandoned their ships and forts and retreated!"

Sakamoto Ryoma waved his hand and said: "Let the remaining infantry divisions land immediately and quickly control the Manila port and other areas. We are now heading to the vicinity of the Governor's Palace to help the 101st Division attack the fortress."

(End of this chapter)