Japan is an island country, and coastal people are no strangers to being sailors. Kyushu is in the south of Japan, and the people of Kyushu are even more talented in navigation. The expedition to the Ryukyus from the Satsuma Domain, Heihachiro Togo did not consider it a long distance. But in the fierce naval battle, Heihachiro Togo suddenly understood what it meant to "call the heavens and the earth." ”

The warships of the Liberation Army marched slowly in a neat queue, and the precise movements even had a taste of elegance. The ever-changing signal flags on the flagship's mast, the staggered landing points, and the large and small columns of water caused by artillery fire on the sea. The flotilla of small boats was wiped out under the heavy blows. Some of the ships sank to the bottom of the sea in an instant, while others were still floating on the sea, and their broken hulls were turned into torches. The red flames and black smoke proved that the navy of the Satsuma Domain was fighting hard not so long ago.

Togo Heihachiro was overjoyed to see the thick black smoke coming out of the chimney of the wicked huge warship, and the thick black smoke column was somewhat similar to the smoke on the wrecked Japanese ships, only darker and thicker. The warships of the Liberation Army did not self-destruct, but increased their speed. The Japanese steamship, which struggled to get closer, found that the distance between them and the Liberation Army was beginning to widen.

Because he was not a helmsman, Heihachiro Togo could only pound the cabin fiercely, watching as the opportunity to engage the enemy was lost again. At this time, the course of the Japanese fleet changed somewhat, and the sail warships began to choose to withdraw from the battlefield. The steam fleet was flanked for protection. This protection was skillful, as the steaming fleet maintained a corner with the sail fleet, and once the Chinese steamship fleet sailed side by side with the sail fleet and fired at each other, the steaming fleet would immediately catch up from the other side. At this time, the Chinese warships had to face heavy artillery fire from the left and right. This approach was actually the same as the previous choice of the fleet of the Japanese Satsuma Domain, except that it changed from an active attack to a retreating defense.

Will the Chinese catch up? Heihachiro Togo felt uneasy in his heart. This movement of the fleet is so obvious, will the Chinese warships really fall into this trap of shelling on both the left and right? If Heihachiro Togo had been the commander of the Chinese fleet, he would have given up the opportunity to attack the sailing ships and swooped down on the steamers. As long as it is possible to solve the steam fleet, the sail fleet lacking maneuverability is no match for steam warships.

But the Chinese warships did not do what Togo Heihachiro had thought, and the fleet turned around and swooped down. Judging from the course, they did not even consider the possibility of being attacked from the left and right, and took the nearest route to pursue the Japanese warships.

During the pursuit, the Chinese warships all raised their sails, and the sailing speed soon increased. Only then did Heihachiro Togo notice that the sea breeze was getting stronger. The two sides actually met in the afternoon, and after some fierce fighting, it was already close to evening. If the Japanese fleet can speed up to get rid of the Chinese fleet, it can take advantage of the darkness to get out of the battlefield.

"It seems that Saigo-sama does think more thoughtfully than me!" Heihachiro Togo's evaluation of the fleet commander Takamori Saigo rose to the top.

However, Heihachiro Togo soon discovered that sometimes his thoughts were often wishful thinking. The sails of the warships of the Liberation Army were combined with steam power, and they approached the fleeing Satsuma Clan's sail warships at an astonishing speed. At this time, the steam warships of the Satsuma Domain also raised their sails and tried to catch up from the right rear of the Liberation Army. Whenever possible, flank left and right.

At this time, Heihachiro Togo saw that the smoke characteristic of firing suddenly appeared from the position on the foredeck of the Chinese warship. Moments later, a huge column of water was stirred up on the right side of a Japanese sailboat. In this era, it was a very common pattern for artillery to be configured on the sides of the ship. The midline configuration is an evil way. So Togo Heihachiro never expected that the Liberation Army would actually put the cannon in that position.

Regardless of whether this configuration is reasonable or not, it can be shown to be effective in this naval battle. The pursuing Korsushi could fire at the enemy in front of them at will, and the Satsuma Domain's sail navy could only wait for the Korsushi to enter their firing angle.

It was the first of the recovering warships to fire the cannon, and after a while, the guns on the bow of the second warship also joined the chorus. The Satsuma Domain sent a total of 17 warships, and seven small ships have been destroyed. Three steamships are trying to join the battle, and seven large ships are under heavy attack from four warships of the Liberation Army.

The warships of the Satsuma Domain were completely foreign-designed, and the gun emplacements on both sides of the ships were fixed tracks. This is conducive to the elimination of the reaction force after the shelling and the increase in the rate of shelling. However, this also made the adjustment of the angle of the shelling very small, and the sailing ships of the Satsuma clan could only be beaten.

Heihachiro Togo was the gunner, and the head of the gun position was the gunner. Heihachiro's boss Oyama Iwa suddenly roared, "Hurry up and retreat!" This can't be fought anymore! ”

Yes, there is currently a 10:4 ratio between the ships of the Satsuma clan and the Kosushi army. The Satsuma clan had the numerical upper hand, and the Kosushi had all the upper hand on all other fronts. The navy of the Satsuma clan prepares to flank the fleet of the Kosu Army from the left and right, but Heihachiro Togo sees that a good plan has been interrupted before it can be executed. It is likely that the Satsuma Domain's sailing fleet was wiped out before the steamships of the Satsuma Domain arrived on the side of the Satsuma Domain.

At that time, the situation on the battlefield was that of three steam warships of the Satsuma Domain confronted four unscathed warships of the Resuke. If the end result is like this, can there be anything more?

But the reality was often more outrageous than imagined, and the originally imagined brutal pursuit battle did not lead to the total annihilation of the fleet of the Satsuma Domain. The hit rate of the artillery bombardment on both sides was too low, and the Guangfu army fired hundreds of guns, but only hit less than seven guns. Two hours passed imperceptibly. But before it darkened, a new joiner appeared ahead, a larger warship than the warship that had originally joined the warband. After these four warships joined the battle group, everything changed. Originally, the Satsuma Navy thought that the left and right flanking attacks turned into Satsuma's sailboats, and they fell into a desperate situation of flanking left and right.

The commander-in-chief, Takamori Saigo, abandoned his original plan, and the steamer reversed course and fled. Heihachiro Togo watched from afar as the two fleets of steamships inflicted a fierce blow on the sail fleet. In the last rays of the sky, he saw billowing black smoke from the burning ships in the distance.

Six days later, on February 19, Weser received a report on the naval battle of the Ryukyus. The report is quite detailed, and it first raises a series of questions. From the hit rate of artillery bombardment, to the problems encountered in various combat preparations. The Liberation Army and Navy are basically Army Career Changes, so what Weeser reads is the expectation that the Navy will be able to fight a beautiful war of annihilation like a land battle, and the frustration when the purpose of the battle is not achieved.

After reading the Navy's report, Weeser suddenly understood the mood of the World Naval Competition that year. Establish a large fleet that is both offensive and defensive, and can fight and run. Build a superfleet where every warship is the king of the seas. Build a large fleet that can easily sink all enemy warships in every battle. In order to achieve this, the British developed a strategy of the British fleet, which ranked first in the world, and the second and third fleets combined.

The navy of the Liberation Army also seems to have this kind of beautiful imagination, but the reality has taught the Liberation Army a lesson. The steam sail mixed fleet had an overwhelming advantage over the simple sail fleet, but in the face of the steamships of the Satsuma Domain, which were far inferior to the Satsuma Domain's steam ships, this advantage became negligible, and the three steamships of the Satsuma Domain escaped. If these three ships are still there, the Liberation Army will not be able to sit back and relax.

What surprised Weeser was not the Navy's attitude of "eliminating all evils", but he found that his understanding of history was wrong. By 1866, the Japanese Navy had already owned its own steamship, and the Manchu Qing Dynasty at this time in history had no concept of steamship. Although it is claimed that the Hunan army had its own steamship at that time, it was only a real ship, and it did not open up China's modern naval system.

The gap between China and Japan did not exist before the First Sino-Japanese War, but since the 60s of the 19th century. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan's gap only gradually widened. This fact made Weeser feel a great shock.

With China's size, coupled with confidence in the Liberation Party, Weizer believes that overpowering backward Japan is something that has no value for discussion. But the reality made Wei Ze realize that the Japan he was facing was a Japan that was more advanced than the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and it was not a simple matter to solve such a Japan. Japan was not civilized through the Meiji Restoration, but long before the Meiji Restoration, which was a revolution in which advanced Japan defeated the backward shogunate and allowed Japan to industrialize systematically.

Leaning back on the sofa, Weser crossed his fingers on his lower abdomen. He suddenly sneered, no wonder the imperialist countries were so afraid of the revolution in the country they bullied. These industrialized countries know the changes that industrialization will bring, so the far-reaching people in the imperialist countries know very well how a revolution that will lead the bullied countries to industrialization will have a profound impact on the world situation. The suppression of revolutions in non-industrial countries was an inevitable choice for the imperialists in the interests of their own countries.

Thinking of this, Wei Ze realized that he was actually an imperialist as well, and the comical sense of this cognition turned the sneer into a self-deprecating laugh. Wei Ze's secretaries rarely saw Wei Ze like this, everyone, you look at me, I look at you, and their faces are stunned.

Wei Ze didn't make any other explanation, he ordered: "Call Zuo Zongtang back, I have a new job to be handed over to him!" ”R1058