The sun never sets

"Yes!"

Chapter 305: Closer

The way the navy fights is different from the army. The most difficult thing on the sea is to find the enemy, followed by seizing the position. If you don't want to fight a decisive battle, you can also leave the fighting distance. The decisive battle at sea is often very lively, with hundreds or thousands of cannons firing at each other, but sometimes there may be no results at all.

But if both sides have the intention of a decisive battle, or are forced to fight, the battle will often be over in a very short time, unlike the army, where a battle can last for days and nights or a campaign can last for several months.

The "Xiaguang" and "Akebono" neither wanted to fight the Japanese, nor were they prepared to run away, so they lured the Japanese cruisers from the Sea of Japan west of the Tsugaru Strait all the way to the vicinity of Korea. More and more Japanese fleets joined the pursuit, and the two warships no longer dared to run away as slowly as they had a few hours ago. With the efforts of the comrades in the engine room, the ship speed was increased to 21 knots, just a little faster than the Japanese navy armored cruisers chasing behind.

"Japanese fleet spotted in southwest direction!"

The observer shouted loudly from the lookout, "Battleship one, cruiser one, destroyer three!"

Inside the battle command room, the captain quickly received the news that they were about to be attacked. He looked at the political commissar next to him, who said, "Prioritize your own safety."

The captain then ordered: "Increase the speed to 22 knots!"

"Qiujinzhou" express

The Japanese commander on the high-speed protected cruiser was very surprised, "How can it be so fast?"

The speed of warships in this era was generally below 20 knots. The latest German ship, the "Dreadnought", could run at 21 knots, which was called a "dream-like speed". The "Akitsushima" could only run at 19 knots, and even if it was forced to increase pressure at the risk of boiler explosion, it could only run at 20 knots, while the Chinese warship actually ran at a speed of 22 knots!

"Have the Chinese gone crazy? Aren't they afraid of engine problems?"

"I heard that the enemy ship removed many of its secondary main guns. That's probably why it can run so fast!"

The specific data of the "Xiaguang" and "Akebono" were all top-level secrets. The Japanese side sent out many spies and heard a lot of true and false news. There was news that the two warships could run at 25 knots, but this news was obviously false. People in the Combined Fleet and the Japanese Navy Headquarters did not believe it. Japanese engineers and British military attachés also thought it was impossible. Can they still be warships if they can run so fast? Torpedo boats are more like that.

"Yoshi! The Chinese dare to fight to the death, so why shouldn't we dare? Pass the order down, increase the speed to 21 knots! We must stop those two enemy ships!"

"Sir, our ship can only run at 20 knots at most! If we have to increase it to 21 knots, it will cause great damage to the steam turbine!"

The commander, Major General Togo Masamitsu, turned around and raised his hand to give the Japanese a "Sanbindige", which means a big slap in the face. In the Japanese army, corporal punishment and beatings are common. The army often punishes soldiers physically, and the navy is more civilized, but beatings and scoldings are also common.

Russian officers viewed their soldiers as gray animals; Japanese were a little better, but only a little.

The staff officer who was slapped had an obvious mark on his face, but he dared not shout or complain, but lowered his head to express his humble and submissive attitude. He had to do so, otherwise he would suffer more beatings.

"Damn it! What time is it now? Even if the steam turbine explodes, we must catch up with the enemy!"

"......Hayi!"

The Japanese warships chasing after the "Xiaguang" and "Akebono" were already sailing at an extraordinary speed, and the Japanese fleet coming from the southwest also used the same method. Although the extreme pressure would cause certain harm to the warships, the effect was also very obvious, and the speed of several Japanese cruisers increased immediately.

The distance between the Chinese and Japanese warships was closing quickly. On the "Xiaguang", the observers were nervously calculating the distance of the enemy ships and reporting every few minutes. In the combat command room, after hearing the latest distance, the captain said: "15000 meters, it will soon be within our range. In another five or six minutes, the Japanese warships will be able to reach us. Political Commissar, should we fire?"

"We can't fire the first shot!" the commissar stressed, "but we will never give the enemy the chance to fire the second shot!"

The captain was a little regretful. "Then we can only continue to speed up, otherwise we will be in danger. Send the order to increase the speed by another two knots!"

Ten minutes later, a soldier on the Akitsushima cruiser stammered, "The speed of the two enemy ships has increased to 24 knots and they are about to cross the Tsushima Strait!"

"Damn it! How can the Chinese warships run so fast? This is impossible! Send the order, continue to increase the pressure!"

"Sir!" The combat staff officer, whose face was still red and swollen, wailed, "We can't speed up any further. The steam in the engine room has begun to leak!"

"Then fire!"

"this........"

"Bang!" Another slap in the face, and the order to fire was passed down smoothly. After the two sides got closer and farther away, the closest distance was now 12000 meters. At this distance, the Japanese warships' cannons could not hit them at all, but they still fired.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

The main guns on the battleships continued to spit out flames, and the shells fell into the sea, blasting out streams of water. This kind of bombardment posed no threat to the People's Navy. In the combat command room, the captain even joked, "Political Commissar Zhao, you said you would not give the enemy a chance to fire a second shot, but now the Japanese pirates have fired the fourth and fifth shots!"

The political commissar snorted and said, "Since they have opened fire, there is no need to be polite to them. Concentrate your fire on the enemy ship in front. Sink it and then retreat! Can you sink it?"

"It's hard to say. Our sighting equipment is the best in the world, but the cannon on this ship is Russian. Whether we can hit it depends entirely on luck. If we can get closer to 1000 meters, then I'll be sure."

"10000 meters? The Japanese ships can hit us, right?"

"It's possible that we can hit it, but it's more likely that we won't." The captain's eyes revealed an eager light. "The closer you get, the higher your chance of hitting it, but the higher the chance of being hit. It depends on your choice."

At this moment, the political commissar became hesitant. His decision might determine the life and death of the entire ship and hundreds of people on another ship. The captain added: "When the Japanese Combined Fleet fought against the Russian Pacific Fleet, they did not stop even when the other side hoisted the white flag, and directly killed all the people on the Russian warships."

"Humph, we are not Russians! Don't try to provoke me. I am not

I won't be fooled! Get closer and try to sink as many ships as possible!"

"now it's right!"

Chapter 306 Naval Battle

The "Xiaguang" and "Akebono" adjusted their positions and made final preparations before firing, slowing down. The Japanese commander on the "Akitsuzou" was frustrated that the Chinese were escaping too fast and the Imperial Japanese Navy could not catch up, but who knew that the Chinese warships suddenly slowed down after a sudden turn of events?

"This must be the blessing of Amaterasu!"

"There's something wrong with the Chinese boiler! I knew it would go wrong if it was running that fast!"

"Sink them!"

The order was passed to the entire fleet, and the Japanese warships chased after them, and then the fastest ship, the Akitsushima, was targeted. Six shells landed around the Akitsushima, and the water columns stirred up by the explosions rushed onto the deck of the Akitsushima, but no shells hit it, not even a near miss.

After the Japanese fleet opened fire in a hurry, another round of salvos fell around the Akitsushima. This time, no shells hit the ship. However, none of the Japanese on the Akitsushima felt lucky. Many of them became terrified. The commander once again cried out the howl of a defeated dog: "How is it possible? How can the Chinese shoot so accurately?"

Yes, although no shells hit, the two shellings achieved the effect of "cross-fire". According to the "sandwich method" used by the navy, as long as the cross-fire can be achieved, it will soon hit. The Japanese fleet increased the frequency of shooting. Even though the hit rate was touching, they still had the courage to fire.

Then, the Chinese launched a third round of artillery fire. Still, none of the shells hit the ship directly, but two shells exploded near the Akitsushima, blowing away several marines on board and damaging the ship's steam turbine. The steam from the boiler rushed out, scalding eight Japanese naval soldiers into pink.

The explosion from the engine room was transmitted throughout the battleship. After several consecutive violent shocks, the people in the command room were shaken to the ground. Commander Masaru Togo finally stood firm and looked up to see the flash in the distance. He shouted in shock: "Be careful, the Chinese are firing!"

In the first three rounds of shelling, none of the People's Navy's shells hit directly, but this is normal in naval battles. As the distance of the battle increases, the hit rate of the shelling decreases, and a hit rate of 3% can be considered well-trained. By the fourth round of shelling, the good luck of the "Akitsushima" finally ran out, and two shells landed on the "Akitsushima" in succession.

One shell hit the front deck, and another shell hit the command room, killing Rear Admiral Masamichi Togo and more than a dozen Japanese naval officers and soldiers on the spot. Then, the fifth round of shooting came, and the Akitsushima was hit by several near misses again. The middle of the ship was hit again, and dozens of naval soldiers who were doing damage control turned into corpses in the explosion and flames.

In less than ten minutes, the battleship "Akitsushima" turned into a huge torch, burning fiercely, and there was no way to save it.

At the same time as the Akitsuna was destroyed, the Japanese warships' shelling also caused some damage to the Kasugao. A near miss shell damaged the ship's sighting equipment, but it was not a big problem because the Kasugao had another sighting equipment on board, and even if the other one was damaged, the data transmitted by the Aurora could still be used to adjust the shooting angle.

After the fourth round of shelling hit the "Akitsushima", the "Kaguya" and "Akebono" increased the frequency of their firing, quickly turning the "Akitsushima" into a huge torch. Then they immediately increased their speed, raising it back to 24 knots, and even accelerated further, reaching a terrifying speed of 25 knots, leaving the Combined Fleet behind in a far-reaching manner.

Seeing the "Xiaguang" and "Akebono" running at 25 knots, the Japanese were almost vomiting blood. Their fastest cruiser could only run at 20 knots, and at 21 knots, there would be a "creaking" sound on the warship, as if it was about to disintegrate. And the Chinese warships could actually run at 25 knots!

What the hell is this?

The battleship Fuji, which arrived late, didn't even see the Kasumi and Akebono before the battle was over. The fast cruisers Kasuga and Nissin saw the battle and how the Akitsuzou was turned into a torch, but they were unable to participate in the artillery battle.

Well, the "Kasuga" did fire a few shots, but they were too far away and not within the effective range. The Japanese sighting and observation equipment did not support bombardment at a distance of more than 10000 meters, and random firing was just a waste of shells.

"Shameful sneak attack!"

"Despicable Chinamen!"

"Punish the violent branch!"

After seeing the tragic situation of the Akitsushima, the Combined Fleet was extremely angry. Many people called for bombarding Qingdao, Tianjin, or Huludao. No matter where it was, they would take revenge. It was always the Japanese who attacked others, but they were attacked by the Chinese. How could this be tolerated!

"Let the Chinese pay the price!"

The angry Combined Fleet ignored the news from the Navy Headquarters, formed a battle group, and marched towards Tianjin. The Combined Fleet was indeed the most powerful naval fleet in East Asia.

It was as if they were in an empty space, and Chinese ships along the way gave way to them. However, there were not many Chinese merchant ships in the Bohai Bay, and the merchant ships and transport ships coming and going were either flying the German flag or the American flag.

When the combined fleet arrived near the Dagu Fort, the Navy Headquarters had sent three telegrams in a row, each with a harsher tone, but the combined fleet ignored them. After consultation, Admirals such as Togo Heihachiro and Akiyama Saneyuki unanimously decided to destroy the Chinese warships before withdrawing.

The reason why they had to go slow despite the order of the Navy Command, in addition to anger, was fear. The Chinese only dispatched two old ironclad ships, and dared to cross the Tsugaru Strait, and killed the "Akitsune" in the presence of the Combined Fleet, and killed Major General Togo Masamichi! If the Chinese had developed for a few more years and had more warships, wouldn't they have soared to the sky?

There must be a reason why the Chinese warships are running so fast, and this is one of the reasons why the combined fleet decided to go it alone. The Chinese navy cannot be allowed to develop again, and they must be strangled in their cradle!

At that time, the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan brought a strong sense of fear to the Japanese. If, when the ronin injured the officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Fleet, Ding Ruchang had simply and decisively bombarded the Japanese warships and sunk the Combined Fleet in the harbor, how could the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 have happened?

The mistakes made by the Beiyang Fleet will never be repeated by the Combined Fleet!

In fact, the Akitsushima was not sunk by the People's Navy, but turned into a large torch, no longer worth saving, and was then killed by the Japanese themselves. But regardless of whether it was killed by the Japanese themselves, they all blamed the Chinese for it.

The order from the Navy Headquarters was very strict, but Togo Heihachiro and others had already decided that they had to destroy the Chinese navy! The bombardment of Dagukou was just to vent their anger. Next, they would rush into Port Arthur and sink the two Chinese warships hiding inside!

Chapter 307: Stubborn

"The fleet must be brought back immediately!"

Ito Hirobumi slammed the table and shouted: "This is not the time to go to war with the People's Party!"

Vladivostok had not yet been captured, and the People's Army had stockpiled more than 200,000 troops and thousands of cannons on the Yalu River, eyeing North Korea and preparing to invade it. After returning from the military observation group, Kodama Gentaro did not agree to fight the People's Party now. Tanaka Giichi saw the powerful firepower of the People's Army in Harbin and believed that the Japanese army needed to consider defense rather than offense.

Although the Japanese army was savage and arrogant, they were not like their descendants who would act alone at any time. People like Oyama Iwao and Yamagata Aritomo had control over the army. They established the current Japanese army and had a very high prestige in the army. Even if Yamagata Aritomo embezzled military funds and lost a lot of money in stock trading, it was not a problem at all.

Saigo Tsumichi was different. He came from the army and was a leader of the Satsuma domain, so he became the Minister of the Navy after being the Minister of the Army. His control over the navy was not as strong as that of Oyama Iwao and Yamagata Aritomo. In fact, he did not care about the specific affairs of the navy at all. He only helped the navy to get money. Training, equipment, fighting and other matters were all done by people like Yamamoto Gonbei.

But he was now the Minister of the Navy, and no matter what decision Yamamoto and his men made, Saigo Tsukumichi would firmly support it. He issued several orders to the Combined Fleet in succession, but since the generals at the front believed that they had to fight, he changed his attitude and turned to support the Combined Fleet.

"I will be outside, and I will not accept your order!"

Saigo Tsunemichi ignored Ito Hirobumi's anger and said with his head held high: "The Combined Fleet can withdraw after punishing the violent Chinese!"

"You are trying to start a war!"

"It's not me who started the war, it's the Chinese who started the war!" Saigo Tsukumichi said tit for tat: "The Chinese crossed the Tsugaru Strait and humiliated the Empire of Japan. The destruction of the Akitsushima humiliated the navy! Count Ito, can you tolerate such humiliation?"

Ito Hirobumi stared at Saigo Tsumichi, who stared back without fear.

After a while, Ito Hirobumi slowly sat back on the futon. He said tiredly, "I know the navy is sure to win, but as for the army..."

"Dashan Yan has assured me that Vladivostok can be taken at any time. While the army is mobilized, we can defeat the Chinese in one fell swoop!"

"Alas, we can take it any day, but we haven't taken it yet. Saigo, you are playing with fire."

"Before the Korean War, were we sure of victory? We had fought the Chinese many times before, but it was only that time that we achieved real victory. Ito, you always supported the war with the Chinese!"

Ito Hirobumi shook his head. "It's different. It's different."

Saigo Tsunemichi said disapprovingly: "There is no difference. The Chinese are still Chinese, even if they change their skin. As long as we are determined, we can achieve a victory like the one in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895."

"Do we have to go to war? Can't we wait a little longer? At least until we force Russia to admit defeat."

"The arrow is on the string and must be fired."

Ito Hirobumi's fierce aura eased, and he pondered for a while, "If we go to war, we must ensure complete victory!"

"The Navy will surely win!"

"........."

The quarrel within the naval headquarters did not affect the operation of the Combined Fleet.

The main fleet of the Japanese army arrived near the Dagu Fort and immediately launched an artillery attack. The Dagu Fort was not just one fort, but a whole set of defense systems built along the north and south banks of the Haihe River. It was the barrier of Tianjin, and Tianjin was the barrier of Beijing.

Now there is no Beijing, only Beiping, and the importance of Dagukou Fort has declined a lot, but the defensive power has not been weakened, but strengthened. Because the people's government is stronger than the previous dynasty and can mobilize more resources, the strength of the Dagukou Fort group is stronger than in the Gengzi Year.

In the Gengzi Year, the fleet of the Eight-Nation Alliance could not do anything to the fort, and finally had to rely on infantry to capture the fort. What the Eight-Nation Alliance could not do then, the current Combined Fleet could not do either. After the Combined Fleet opened fire, the Dagu Fort immediately launched a counterattack.

The famous British naval commander Nelson once said, "Only a fool would use a fleet against a battery."

The Combined Fleet's bombardment of the Dagu Fort achieved some results, destroying several cannons and killing and wounding some People's Army soldiers, but the counterattack from the fort also hit several warships. The "Chiyoda" and "Suma" withdrew from the battle sequence with flames and thick smoke and returned to Japan with difficulty.

After several hours of bombardment and each side paying a price, the Combined Fleet had to leave. Their firepower was very good and powerful, but it was too much of a loss for the fleet to fight against the artillery. Even if they got some advantages in the exchange ratio, economically speaking, the Combined Fleet was at a loss. Battleships are so expensive, and the repair costs after being hit are in the tens of thousands. The "Chiyoda" was hit by two heavy grenades, and it would take more than 100,000 yen to get rid of it.

The shells fired by naval guns are very expensive, and the barrels are also very expensive. The barrels of battleship main guns have a short lifespan. Japan's metallurgical technology and manufacturing technology are still very backward. The barrels manufactured can fire two or three hundred rounds at best. The barrels purchased from abroad can double the service life and the price is also doubled. After firing so many shells, the service life of the barrel is greatly reduced, which also costs money.

The navy is a more expensive branch of the military than the army. Even if there is no hit and no gunfire, it will cost a lot of fuel to send so many ships out. Moreover, the combined fleet does not have enough sailors to capture the forts at Dagukou. Even if one of the forts is destroyed, what is the point?

Venting out anger? That was probably the only function left. Oh, the Combined Fleet also bombarded nearby ports. After bombarding Dagukou, the main force of the Combined Fleet turned to Lushun, intending to rush into the port and destroy the Chinese warship Hongcheng fragments piled up inside. Then, the Japanese encountered even more fierce bombardment.

Lushun was once a fortress that the Russians had vigorously managed. There were cannons everywhere on the hills, and there were also many fortress cannons. The Combined Fleet had lost all the advantages it had gained at Dagukou. The result of the forced attack was that a destroyer was sunk and three other warships were damaged, including the battleship "Fuji" which was running too slowly.

The sudden outbreak of conflict between China and Japan shocked... not many people. The British government had long been aware of Japan's small moves, and people of insight in Japan and China had long seen that the two sides would fight again sooner or later. Even the Russians knew this fact.

After the Sino-Russian War, the People's Army did not fully recover. A large number of troops were deployed to the Yalu River, forming a confrontation with the Japanese army on the other side of the Yalu River. The Japanese army had already accumulated three divisions on the Yalu River, ready to stab them in the back at any time, but the situation in Vladivostok was not going well, so they did not implement the plan of backstabbing.

Now that the People's Army is pressing forward, it is impossible to stab them in the back. The Japanese think that they are very stubborn and it is not impossible to attack them by force. Wait until Oyama Iwa's main force is transferred back.

Chapter 308: The Book of Sorrow

Lin Yongchang actually didn't agree with letting the navy provoke the combined fleet, mainly because it was meaningless. After kicking Russia out of the war, he was preparing for a war with Japan, and there was no need for the navy to create an excuse for war. Isn't it easy to find an excuse? Just find one at random, there is no need to let the navy do such a thing.

The main reason is that the People's Navy is still very weak and is no match for the Combined Fleet. Marshal Lin always likes to use the strong to defeat the weak in war, and using the weak to defeat the strong is something he only does when he has no other choice. The Navy can just play a supporting role. If they want to defeat the Japanese, they still have to rely on their army brothers.

But it was because the navy was too weak that the Navy Night Raid Group: ⑥九四⑨, ③六①三五 proposed a plan to cross the Tsugaru Strait. Lin Yongchang rejected this plan that sounded unreliable at first. It was not worthwhile to take risks with the seeds of the navy. It was safer to accumulate 17 or 18 super dreadnoughts and then attack the combined fleet.