It was not until after the victory of the Russo-Japanese War that Japan had a chance to touch the Yangtze River basin, which had been a forbidden place for Western colonizers, until the Japanese navy entered the Yangtze River, and found that it did not have gunboats suitable for use on this river. In fact, Western colonizers have also encountered this problem, so they have developed a special ship type, collectively known as the [Yangtze River gunboat].

The Japanese navy learned a lot from the British, including the design and use of this shallow inland waterway ship, at a time when relations between Japan and Britain were still in their honeymoon period, and the British were almost influentials to their Asian allies. Although these ships may look like they have been converted from civilian ships, they are actually specially designed armed ships.

The need for draft and speed led to a generally low profile, with freeboards usually no more than two meters, in order to facilitate access to Chinese-style wooden transport ships and rudimentary docks on the Yangtze River.

In order to safeguard the so-called interests of Japan in the Yangtze River valley, the Japanese Navy went so far as to design and build 11 river gunboats of the sixth class.

With the gradual contraction of Britain, the United States, France, and other colonial powers from the Yangtze River valley, the Japanese First Fleet now basically controls the Yangtze River route from Shanghai to Hankou, and the only thing that is not under their control is the large foreign merchant ships flying the rice character or the star-striped banner.

Japan's water blockade of the national government has promoted the vigorous development of the smuggling business of British and American cargo ships, and every day dozens or even hundreds of tons of strategic materials are secretly imported into the areas controlled by the national government through combined water and land transportation, and the source of all business is the magic capital of Shanghai Beach at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

Although half of the First Fleet was in Shanghai, Japan could not regulate the cargo of Western merchant ships because it could not break face with the Western powers at this time. In the face of repeated accusations from the Army, the Navy believes that it has done its duty, and the Army horse manure does not understand the inside story and is not qualified to complain.

The Hira is the second ship of the Seta-class gunboats, which is the most numerous of all the Yangtze River river gunboats built in Japan, with a total of four sister ships.

This fully loaded and displacement 380-ton gunboat was equipped with two 80-millimeter high-level dual-purpose naval guns, six Lewis machine guns, and two expansion reciprocating steam engines, with a power of 2,100 horsepower and a speed of 16 knots, which fully met the Japanese Navy's standards for gunboats on the Yangtze River.

Two days ago, the sailors had just finished a two-week cruise, and the sailors were still on board to do the finishing work after the voyage, cleaning up the debris left behind by the voyage, washing the inner compartments and decks, and replacing parts and components damaged on the ship during the mission. This type of river gunboat is usually looser in terms of sailor discipline, but it still adheres to the strict requirements of the Japanese Navy in terms of equipment maintenance.

Captain Hasegawa, the captain of Hira, did not visit Prince Eugen because he had a cold, and when the war readiness notice was issued, he was drinking ginger soup made for him by the Chinese chef in the spacious captain's room.

After putting down the phone, the captain rushed to the bridge with snot in tow and personally sounded the ship's battle alarm.

According to the standard, the Hira should be equipped with a crew of sixty-two ships, but in fact, due to the restrictions of living conditions, very few river gunboats have reached full capacity, and at present there are only 51 officers and men on this gunboat, including a Chinese cook hired in Hanyang and four Chinese miscellaneous servants, who are non-combatants.

The captain conveyed the commander's order to the assembled sailors, which were not far from the Bund, and the sailors had already noticed the black smoke and fierce gunfire rising from there, and they had been speculating whether the concession was engaged in some actual combat exercises, and there was such a big noise. Now that they heard the truth of the matter from the captain's mouth, the officers and men were immediately excited, and they rushed into the cabin in a swarm, and quickly armed themselves, and the officers and men of the ship could not wait to accompany His Excellency the commander to crusade against the army rebellion.

The Japanese Navy does not need to do any mobilization to fight the army, and these naval soldiers have been instilled with naval values in their minds from the moment they joined the army, even if they are the lowest orderlies, they despise the army from the bottom of their bones.

The navy is a technical branch of the armed forces, and it has very high requirements for the cultural quality of its soldiers, and it has also thrown the army out of several streets in terms of the treatment of soldiers.

While the Japanese Army's food was still calculating portions, the Japanese Navy had already begun to calculate calories, and while the Japanese Army was learning to calculate calories, the Navy was calculating nutrition.

There must be meat for three meals, enough miso soup and rice, dessert is served after the meal, there is beer in leisure, and on some warships with superior conditions, there are cold drinks in summer, which makes those army soldiers who are exposed to the sun and rain and nibble cold rice balls, how can their eyes not be red with jealousy.

It is a miracle that the contradictions between the Japanese army and navy have been going on for a long time, and it is indeed a miracle that there has not been a fire and merger so far.

In private, fights between two officers and soldiers are commonplace, and when encountering such group fights, people generally think that it must be the army side that has the upper hand. But in fact, in this kind of people-to-people private fighting, the winning side is often the naval officers and sailors.

First of all, the navy soldiers like to go out into groups on the streets, and the vacation is divided according to the left and right sides of the ship, and they often go down half a boat at once, and when they encounter the fleet in port to rest, at this time, a greeting on the street can often summon hundreds of sailors, but the army has strict restrictions on the number of people who go out of the camp because of the permanent station, and as a result, it often falls into disadvantage in terms of numbers.

Moreover, the Japanese navy sailors have good food and nutrition, and their physical fitness is generally better than that of army soldiers, and the US military in history can provide proof in this regard, usually after the Japanese army defending the island runs out of ammunition and food, it is often a few navies who survive to the end, and when the army soldiers are so hungry that they can't walk, on the other hand, the navy is at most hungry and thinner, and they can still be alive and kicking in the woods.

In addition, the Japanese Navy conducts strict melee training for sailors, kendo and judo are important subjects in naval training, and because the melee subjects are relatively single, the training time is often longer than that of army soldiers.

The naval sailors on the [Biliang] have fought with the army guys in the Flower Street Willow Lane in Hongkou, and the 109th Wing is their old opponent, this time I heard that the group of horse manure brains were broken and actually disobeyed the order, at this time, if you don't fall into the well and teach the other party a good lesson, can you still be regarded as a good man of the Japanese Navy?

Captain Hasegawa resolutely decided to personally lead the troops to dispatch despite his physical discomfort, and with the help of the orderlies, the captain changed into a straight naval uniform, put on a soft combat cap, tied a long-unused cowhide knife belt around the waist of his trousers, and hung a navy-standard saber that had been placed on the knife holder in the captain's room as an ornament.

Hasegawa slanted his shoulder and put on the black pistol holster, pulled out the Browning 1910 in the holster, checked the magazine, and then pulled the bolt to load.

"Go for it! (Departure)" Hasegawa glanced at the subordinates neatly arranged on the dock, did not say any more nonsense, and neatly led the team towards the meeting place in the order.

PS: Today's state is not good, the number of words is less, and I will strive to make up for the big chapter tomorrow.

Thank you all for your support.